


I Don't Care

by jumping_jax



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, American English, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Falling In Love, Fluff, Getting Together, Holding Hands, Humor, Internalized Homophobia, JUST GUYS BEIN DUDES, Kissing, Light Angst, M/M, Making Out, Post-Break Up, Swearing, some of the characters are bitches
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-23
Updated: 2019-07-23
Packaged: 2020-06-29 02:29:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 21,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19820677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jumping_jax/pseuds/jumping_jax
Summary: N-884Prompt: college/fake dating au: when haechan lies to his ex about having a hot new boyfriend from germany (aka renjun’s cousin yangyang), he doesn’t actually think anything of it. renjun’s only ever mentioned yangyang in passing and haechan knows there’s no way they’ll ever meet so his little white lie is safe...until yangyang decides to transfer to their uni. now he’s stuck with a fake boyfriend that’s he’s only just met.-----(Re-worded)When trying to prove how very much over his ex Donghyuck is, he made the mistake of letting a name slip that belongs to Renjun's cousin Yangyang, whom he's never really seen or talked to before. It seems that Donghyuck's little lie is safe... until Yangyang transfers to his university...





	I Don't Care

**Author's Note:**

> Pairing: Haechan/Yangyang
> 
> Rating: No preference
> 
> Notes/Bonus Points: haechan referring to yangyang by ridiculous german terms of endearment, haechan and yangyang bonding over football (soccer), side!noren
> 
> Do Not Include: please don’t make haechan’s ex an nct member, heavy angst, genderbend, non-con, dub-con, mentions of self-harm
> 
> my most sincere apologies if there are plot holes and characterization gets patchy, i had to rush a bit to finish on time but i promise to edit as much as i can after reveals! i had a ton of fun writing this and i hope you all enjoy this obscure, non-existent pairing!
> 
> shoutout to wendy for beta-ing half of this for me, you can find her ao3 [here](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImJaebabie)
> 
> thank you, please enjoy!

Sometimes Donghyuck genuinely surprised himself with how utterly stupid he could be.

He hadn’t meant to create the mess that came from the teeny-tiny lie, honest to god. But fate had a funny way of playing with him and his feelings for reasons that he still hadn’t figured out.

He had first begun to dig his grave the week before his finals commenced, wrapping up his delightful (read: insufferable) third semester at college. He’d been studying in the library with a huge mug of coffee, as you do, and with nothing but survival on his mind when Seungmin Kim approached him, plunking down in the adjacent seat.

Now, it’s imperative to know that in their freshman year at the university, they had dated for a solid five months. But they’d barely talked since Seungmin had ended things, and Donghyuck had been perfectly content with keeping it that way (despite the all too obvious emotional residue left from the break-up).

So here came his ex, looking like he wanted to speak with Donghyuck for the first time in months, which inevitably triggered a deep set nervousness in the pit of his stomach. The slightly unsettling grin on Seungmin’s face didn’t help either, seeing as he’d rarely smiled for the year and a half Donghyuck had known him.

“Hyuck,” Seungmin greeted, sliding his backpack off his shoulder and setting it onto his lap. “Long time no see,” he beamed with a wink.

“Something like that,” he mumbled back warily, sitting up in his chair and twisting his body to face his ex. “... Can I… help you with something?” Subtly, as he did so, he let his eyes check over the outfit he was wearing as a reflex. Goddamn, bad habits really do die hard.

Seungmin gave a short huff that sounded vaguely like a chuckle and rolled his eyes, as if the notion of Donghyuck asking was absurd. “I can’t say hi to one of my most favorite people on campus?”

 _Very suspicious,_ he noted with an arched brow as Seungmin fished out his papers, books, and pens from his bag, setting up right next to Donghyuck.

“Right…” he replied slowly, narrowing his eyes slightly at Seungmin. “Well, uh, looks like I gotta go-” he tried, hoping to escape an awkward conversation.

But Seungmin placed a firm hand on his shoulder, freezing him in place, and laughed like they were good friends. “Don’t be like that, Hyuck, I’m not here to, like, drag you back into my life,” he chuckled with the same, unusually happy grin.

_And yet here I am…_

Donghyuck didn’t consider himself a loser of any kind, and pining after your ex definitely fell into the loser category. However, he felt that his situation was entirely different from the cliché “not over my ex” storyline.

See, Seungmin had broken up with him the year before on the grounds that it was, “just hard to keep up with everything going on,” and that he “didn’t want to hold Hyuck back.” Both very considerate and sweet for someone to say to another when breaking up with them (however contrived and phony the feeling behind the words were). But the thing was, Hyuck _still_ harbored lingering feelings for the other since and remained ever hopeful that Seungmin would return with the energy to rekindle their relationship.

To be brutally clear, his feelings, while valid, were idiotic and ungrounded. Even he knew that. Everyone who had known him when he’d been with Seungmin knew that -because their relationship had been shitty.

A down right shitshow. Sure, they went out and kissed and held hands and cuddled, but there was always a gaping space between them, a ravine that could never be bridged. Hyuck hadn’t been the happiest he could’ve with Seungmin, he was fully aware of that and acknowledged it, and yet he still clung to the other boy because that had been all he’d had.

Again, not a loser, just a little lonely at times. Seungmin hadn’t been the best for him, but he’d been there for him when no one else was. That’s mostly what Hyuck still craved: the feeling of meaning something to someone.

“Hyuck?” Seungmin’s smooth-as-honey voice shattered his thoughts and reeled him back into the present.

“Shit, sorry, I’m- it’s been a long week,” he mumbled, rubbing his eyes and feigning fatigue. He wasn’t actually tired, considering the large coffee he was steadily draining. If anything, he was hyper aware of everything Seungmin was doing and saying, he’d just forgotten to pay attention.

“I feel that. Anyways, I actually came by to tell you some exciting news,” he said, eyes flashing brightly. “Do you wanna hear?”

Maybe it was hope that inclined him to say yes. Or maybe it had been out of politeness. Either way, he regretted agreeing the second after Seungmin opened his mouth.

“Your friend Jaemin asked me out!” He whisper-squealed, smiling so broadly Hyuck could count each and every one of his gleaming, white teeth.

His heart plummeted into his stomach. He was speechless.

“Can- can you believe it? I’ve always thought you and your nerd friends were all just nerds but- but when you asked me to hang out with you guys and I met Jaemin, damn, I was proven so wrong,” he gushed dreamily. “I just thought you would wanna know,” he added with a small shrug.

Donghyuck’s fingers gripped his pencil with white knuckles. He swallowed despite his sandpaper-dry mouth. “Great for you,” he forced out with artificial delight. He blinked sweetly, meeting Seungmin’s gaze. “I’m glad for you.”

Seungmin’s shoulders relaxed with a deep sigh. “Oh thank god, I was worried you’d be upset or something since it’s like- y’know, he’s your friend and we dated so… but I’m glad you’re glad!”

He couldn’t find it in him to share Seungmin’s joy. An ugly pit of jealousy and resentment was beginning to heat in his gut.

“Speaking of, um, getting together,” Seungmin piped up after a long stretch of silence between them, “since we, you know, broke up, have you found anyone yet?”

The question his him like a bullet shot through his stomach. It hurt, badly, and fueled the fire that brought the simmering jealousy and resentment to a boil. And the way Seungmin had said it sounded like he thought he was just that much better than Donghyuck for moving on first. The two of them had always had fun, laughing down on other dipshits and throwing snarky comments back and forth endlessly, that’s just how they’d always been, but now it really rubbed him the wrong way.

“As a matter of fact, I have.”

Simple. Seungmin would walk away now to suck face with Jaemin and Donghyuck would be left alone but in peace.

“Oh, really?” He asked, clearly skeptical. “What’s his name?” He challenged and Donghyuck’s blood ran cold.

_Fucking hell, Seungmin._

In the span of half a second, his mind flipped through all of the boys within dating age he knew that Seungmin would have zero chance of ever meeting in his life. The top candidates turned out to be Jaehyun, or “Yoonoh” for when he felt Extra™, who had moved to Korea to finish his studies abroad and eventually build a life for himself in the heart of Seoul, Mark, an old high school friend who still lived and worked in the area but commuted to a different university an hour’s drive away, and Yukhei, who lived in China and had been an exchange student at Donghyuck’s high school.

All very good, very valid options (other than Mark maybe but that was an entirely different problem).

But for whatever fucked up, twisted, paradoxical reason, he’d blurted out a name he’d only heard a grand total of three times in his life, and (accidentally) set himself up for one hell of a year.

“Yangyang Liu.”

He wanted to drown himself. Of all the names he knew, he’d literally chosen the stupidest of all. Yangyang, his roommate Renjun’s fucking _German_ cousin who spoke fucking _German_ and, by the way, lived in fucking _Germany_.

And the best part, he’d never talked with the guy in his life. Hell, he didn’t know if the kid even spoke English since he only ever heard Renjun communicate with him in Chinese.

At least if he’d said Mark’s name or even Yukhei’s name he’d be able to give some background on them since he’d actually fucking talked to them. But noooo, his dumbass just decided that “Yangyang Liu” was a great person to pretend to be dating.

“Oh,” Seungmin said, sounding more surprised than Donghyuck thought necessary, “I’ve never heard of him before,” he remarked thoughtfully.

“Yeah, well he lives in Germany,” he grumbled, turning to pack up before he could dig his own grave any deeper.

“Wait, Hyuck, that’s exciting!” Seungmin exclaimed suddenly. “Oh my god, how did you guys meet?”

_Jesus Fucking Christ._

“He visited Renjun over the summer and we met and… yeah.”

_Stop talking you absolute imbecile._

“Oh, he knows Renjun?”

“Yeah they’re cousins.”

_Why the fuck haven’t you walked away yet?_

“That’s good for you! Tell him I said hi,” Seungmin beamed, gathering his things and standing. “I gotta go now but I’m glad that we got a chance to catch up!”

He waved and exited quickly, mumbling something to himself.

Donghyuck let go of a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.

That was a close call.

* * *

It’s common knowledge that just when you think you’re in the clear, something that you don’t even remember - until it’s explicitly brought up again - comes back to bite you in the ass and consequently flips your world upside down into a nightmarish hell.

That’s exactly what Donghyuck experienced three days before the end of his relaxing, tranquil, rejuvenating winter break.

“He’s fucking _what?!”_ He practically screeched into the phone as Renjun relayed the devastating news, nonchalantly of course as he was oblivious to Donghyuck’s awful attempt to not appear as pathetic as he was.

“He’d not fucking anyone or anything, he’s transfering. To our school. Starting next semester, so…. In three days,” Renjun replied monotonously. “Why do you care?” He added as a puzzled afterthought.

Even Donghyuck knew that it’s nowhere near socially acceptable to just say, “oh, I’m fake-dating your cousin who I never thought I’d actually have to meet in person and now my ex is going to drag my fucking ass.” So he needed to think of something on the spot.

“He’s kinda cute,” he blurted out loud.

_What. The. Actual. Fuck?_

He could _hear_ Renjun’s confused expression on the other end of the line. “Ooookkaayyy… you’ve seen his picture like once and always ask me to change the subject whenever I mention the country Germany…” Renjun drawled out suspiciously. “And the first thing you said about him was, “the twink probably wears a kilt,” which was the worst thing I’ve heard you say in the two years that I’ve known you.”

Donghyuck wanted to die, really badly, in the instant he was reminded of the comment he’d made about Yangyang the first time Renjun had brought him up. He slammed his hand down against his kitchen table, earning a sharp scolding from his aunt, but he ignored her.

“Mmmmmm, that’s real funny, I didn’t remember but thank you oh-so-much for bringing it back up,” he growled, face red from embarrassment.

“Any time, my guy. And if you were wondering, he’s coming by with me tomorrow so you can meet him and ask him about his kilt. See ya, loser.”

Renjun hung up, leaving Donghyuck gaping stupidly at his phone’s black screen.

He was royally screwed. So naturally, he shoved it into the back of his mind and forgot about it for the rest of the day, drowning his troubles in cans of Monster, potato chips and trashy pop music.

* * *

It never really hit him that he was meeting his “boyfriend” until he was physically _meeting his “boyfriend”._

He’d dressed like the raging homosexual slob he was in a pair of black, skinny jeans, streaked with every color of paint imaginable, an oversized black crewneck pullover reading “69 Shades of Gay,” and worn-out, red Vans. At least the color on his shoes matched some of the paint permanently encrusted onto his jeans.

Renjun was waiting for him in the common room for their dorm floor with an unfamiliar boy sitting by his side at one of the tables in the far corner. None of their other friends (read: Jeno and Sanha) had bothered to show up on time, so it would be a splendid fifteen minutes with his fake boyfriend and his fake boyfriend’s cousin who also happened to be Donghyuck’s roommate.

He sat down on Renjun’s other side, across from Yangyang, and greeted them both with the best smile he could muster while awake several hours before he would’ve liked to be.

“Top of the mornin’ to ya,” Renjun smirked, setting down his steaming paper mug of tea. “You look like ass.”

“Gee, thanks friend.”

“Anytime. Oh, this is my cousin Yangyang, the boy I told you is transferring here,” Renjun said absentmindedly, staring into the swirling contents of his mug. “Yangyang, this is my dumbass friend, Donghyuck, I’ve told you about him before.”

_You've done what?!_

“Ah, you’re the roommate!” Yangyang exclaimed, in English, with an amused smirk resting on his lips, though his eyes drifted over Donghyuck’s ratty appearance with slight disdain. “Renjun complains about you a lot,” he deadpanned with a quiet snicker.

His words were laced with a slight accent, though it couldn’t quite be considered an accent. His speech was just much more refined and enunciated than Dongyuck’s could ever be, though some of Yangyang’s vowels sounded like he was still getting used to the language. He actually pronounced his ‘t’s in every word instead of slurring them to ‘d’s like an Amercian would, and he spoke like he was giving a speech with all of his words sharp and separated.

“Mmmm,” Donghyuck mustered a tight hum, glaring at his roommate. “Does he now?”

Yangyang gave an enthusiastic nod. “I’d tell you but with Renjun I’m sure you already know.”

“Oh, Jeno texted,” Renjun cut in suddenly, standing with his mug in hand and not even trying to pretend that Jeno actually texted. Donghyuck watched in horror as his roommate sauntered off, sipping delicately from his mug and rounded the corner, disappearing from sight.

Now he was stuck with his roommate’s cousin. The boy he was supposedly dating.

 _As long as Seungmin never finds out, you’ll be fine,_ he tried to reason, sliding his phone out of his pocket to check the time, even though he already knew it.

Another part of his conscience piped up. _Oh, but this kid is transferring, there’s no way you’re getting away with Seungmin never meeting him, especially if he and Jaemin are actually together._

Shit, that was a good point.

“My cousin told me you think I’m cute.”

Donghyuck flinched as though he’d been slapped.

 _What. The._ Fuck _. Renjun?!!?!_

“Don’t worry, you’re not too bad yourself.”

Donghyuck was completely incapable of speech for a solid ten seconds as he stared dumbfoundedly at the German boy who had the wickedest shit-eating grin on his face.

“D-did he now?” He stuttered, swallowing his nerves in an attempt to preserve his dignity. “Sounds fake but alright.”

Yangyang’s nose scrunched up ever so slightly as he chuckled. “Renjun doesn’t lie.”

“If you think he doesn’t lie then you’ve never talked to your cousin.”

“Renjun doesn’t lie to _me.”_

Donghyuck chewed on his bottom lip. “What makes you so sure? He just lied now that Jeno texted him,” he pointed out, picking up his phone and snapping the case on and off to satisfy the twitch in his fingers.

Yangyang stared at Donghyuck’s fiddling fingers for a moment before shrugging. “That’s too small to get hung up on. I just… needed to say… I’m not… I’m not _gay.”_

If he’d thought Seungmin was shooting him through the stomach with the question of “have you found anyone yet?” then Yangyang spitting out the word ‘gay’ like shit in his mouth was comparable to getting shot with a hundred bullets.

Yangyang pushed his chair out abruptly and stood, giving a dismissive wave over his shoulder before turning to leave Donghyuck sitting alone, still reeling from the blow.

Yangyang had definitely been the absolute worst person he could’ve picked.

_Just don’t let Seungmin find out._

* * *

“Your boyfriend transferred to our school?!”

Death had never before sounded so tantalizing.

Donghyuck pretended to be engrossed in the round of Candy Crush he was playing in the hopes that the younger would fuck off.

“Donghyuck, you must be so happy!”

His strategy didn’t work. “Mmm, _elated._ Who told you anyways?”

Seungmin sauntered right up to him and shoved his face into Donghyuck’s so he’d have no choice but to pay attention. “You don’t sound or look too 'elated,' and it was Jaemin, of course.”

 _Of course_.

He could’ve easily said, “oh we broke up” and then bullshitted a fake reason.

He could’ve even come clean and said they’d never been dating in the first place, though that would come at the very high expense of his pride, which was never something he’d give up for Seungmin.

“He’s been busy,” Donghyuck shrugged instead, mentally slapping himself and inwardly cringing. He was very aware of the shit he was getting himself into but seeing Seungmin with his smug smirk that used to be attractive made his stomach churn now. He wasn’t going to give Seungmin the satisfaction of knowing he was still a single loser.

“Ah, makes sense,” Seungmin nodded along. “But I’d like to meet the boy who captured your heart,” he said, saccharine sweetness dripping from his words.

Donghyuck slapped his phone down into his lap and leveled Seungmin with a burning glare. If the kid wasn’t going to leave Donghyuck alone on his own, he’d take things into his own hands.

“Why do you, my ex who broke up with me during one of the hardest times in my life and seemed to be ashamed of being seen with me in _any_ public space, care about me now?” He snapped loudly, ignoring the stares from around the lecture hall. He regretted getting to class early.

Seungmin’s sweet façade melted away, replaced with the haughty, bitter face Donghyuck was much more used to. “Because I know you’re still not over me and let me make this very clear, it was entirely _your_ fault for being so fucking _weird_ that we didn’t work out. I’m finally happy again, and you can’t even fake being happy for me.”

Donghyuck’s anger became seething in a second, his blood boiling and hot tears burning his eyes. “Go suck a dick, and I’m sorry I couldn’t erase who I am to fit your picture-perfect ideals,” he spat, fighting to keep his voice from cracking.

“I’d say the same to you but you’re too much of a bitch for anyone to let you suck their dick.” Seungmin stood and brushed past the entering stream of students, flipping Donghyuck off over his shoulder.

He couldn’t believe he’d ever liked that motherfucking son of a bitch.

Donghyuck could feel the professor’s words pushing against the thick clouds of foggy emotions in his mind but never making it through to his conscience. Hot tears wound shiny trails down his cheeks and the second he returned to his shared dorm with Renjun, he dumped his stuff on the bed, leaving his phone and everything that connected him to other people, and walked out into the city. If they cared enough, they’d come to find him.

Just his luck. A nice, empty park tucked away from the mainstream traffic of the bustling city, filled with people who wouldn’t know him. He settled down on a bench to off to the side and observed the soccer game that was being set up, despite the melting snow drifts scattered about. It didn’t look super organized; no one came wearing a uniform and people seemed to drift onto the field, joining on a whim.

He used to play soccer, before he’d gone off to college. He’d always enjoyed midfield; it was one of the most important positions - in his opinion at least. The offence depended on the midfielders to deliver the ball from the defender to them, and the defenders depended on the midfielders to fall back to support when the other team got a break away.

He didn’t even jump when someone fell back onto his bench with a quiet sigh, but when he peeked out of the corner of his eye, he shot up to his feet to leave.

“Relax, I’m not here to trash your… your gayness or whatever,” Yangyang grumbled.

Donghyuck didn’t move. The game was starting and he’d seen some good players so he still intended to watch.

“You like football?” Yangyang asked with forced nonchalance.

“No.”

“Then why are you watching the game?”

Donghyuck had to blink. Oh, right, Europeans.

“Oh, no, I like this kind of football, I just don’t like American football,” he clarified.

Yangyang made a quiet sound of realization and nodded slowly, eyes never leaving the game that was about to begin.

The whistle sounded throughout the quaint park and the players leapt into action.

“Do you play?” Yangyang asked, still with painfully obvious forced nonchalance.

He should’ve never answered. He should’ve never stayed to watch with Yangyang. But he did.

“Used to,” he clipped.

“Would you still? If, you know, there was time to do it and all?”

“Yes.”

A stretch of silence followed and he wished desperately for his phone case to ease the tremble in his fingers. Donghyuck carefully sat back down, taking note of how Yangyang shifted in his seat. “Why are you talking to me? How did you find me?”

The German boy seemed taken aback by Donghyuck’s questions, but he replied to the first and pointedly ignored the second. “Am I not allowed to? Talk to you?”

“You made it pretty clear last week that you wanted nothing to do with me,” he pointed out and if he sounded bitter, he’d blame it on the fact he was being bothered when he didn’t want to be.

Yangyang pursed his lips and cringed slightly. “Renjun lost his shit and is forcing me to make it up to you.”

 _And to think he might’ve showed up to apologize on his own,_ Donghyuck thought wryly.

If the past month’s events had been anything to go by, he definitely shouldn’t have listened to the idea his brain fished up from under a rock at the bottom of the ocean like an oyster. He’d been giving himself a shit ton of grief lately and definitely should’ve thought twice before proposing the idea he did.

“How do you plan on doing that?” He probed, a disaster of a plan nearly fully formulated in his mind already.

Oh, but what a plan it was. Two birds with one stone, if everything played in his favor.

“Good question,” Yangyang agreed, “how should I, Donghyuck?” He turned, looking Donghyuck straight in the eye. There seemed to be an underlying challenge in his gaze and a still… smoldering disdain(??) for some homosexual like Donghyuck, but he seemed less hostile.

He managed to withhold his smirk. “Tit for tat. Quid pro quo. However you say, but that’s how we’ll do this.”

Yangyang sensed something was brewing and looked like he regretted asking so smugly before. Donghyuck found that he enjoyed seeing him look a little scatter-brained and at a loss for words.

He took the other boy’s lack of a no as a yes. “Fantastic. I’ll tell Renjun you’ve been nice to me and apologized, but, there’s a slight catch.”

“What?” Yangyang demanded, his ‘t’ hard and crisp.

Donghyuck let himself smirk a smidge. “You’ve got to pretend to be my boyfriend.”

There was a heartbeat of silence and the German boy’s mouth dropped open before quickly snapping shut.

“Absolutely not.”

Ouch. Donghyuck knew he was no Chris Evans but he liked to think of himself as date-able at the least.

“Guess you’re just gonna get an ass-whooping from Renjun,” he shrugged. He didn’t need to look at Yangyang to know the other was ready to give in. In fact, he was confident Yangyang would accept in the end. Not only did Renjun have zero-tolerance for homophobia and hate of any sort, he was Yangyang’s cousin and could likely stir up a hell of a family episode with the snap of his fingers.

Seeing a look of conflict darken over Yangyang’s face brought a full on, irrepressible smirk to his own. He’d get back at Seungmin. He’d show him he was happy on his own and certainly not dwelling on their monumentally fucked up relationship. He’d make the asshole eat his words and regret challenging him. And he’d-

He was too blinded by the storm of emotions to see the terrible turn it would take.

Yangyang sucked in a slow breath, jaw clenched and eyes hard. “How long?”

“As long as I say.”

“No.”

“Fine, until the end of the second semester.”

“ _Hell_ no,” he snapped, but his frown faltered.

Donghyuck’s smirk grew. “Take it or leave it, chap.”

“Let me ask you this: why do you need a _fake_ boyfriend if you could just get yourself a real one? Someone who… who’s actually into you?” Yangyang inquired , now only with a hint of a frown on his face.

He pretended to think for a second. “Because my standards are too high and no one around qualifies as boyfriend material. You, though you don’t meet my standards, let’s be clear about that, happen to be easy to target and exploit.”

“I’m flattered.”

“Darling, there’s much more where that came from,” he smirked.

Begrudgingly, Yangyang extended his right hand out to Donghyuck. The flames behind his eyes didn’t die down, but he didn’t look particularly enraged or hostile.

“My game, my rules,” Donghyuck stated and took Yangyang’s hand, shaking thrice and then pulling away quickly.

Yangyang looked like he regretted ever transferring to America in the first place for the twenty minutes that followed their arrangement but then one of the players on the field very clearly body checked a defender, though the referee didn’t call it.

“Oh, bullshit,” he grumbled under his breath as the game carried on. “That was clearly a yellow card…”

“Why don’t you take over if you think you could do better?” Donghyuck challenged casually, throwing a raised eyebrow at the German boy.

Yangyang’s trademark smirk returned, determination setting over his face. “Let’s dance then, pretty boy.”

He stood and hauled Hyuck to his feet before he could object, dragging the sputtering boy behind him and down towards the field.

“Dude, wait I haven’t even stretched-” Donghyuck tried to protest but Yangyang cut him off.

“Stretch on the field.”

“I- I don’t have cleats-”

“You don’t need them.”

He stopped trying to pull away and argue when Yangyang flagged down the referee as the players set up for a throw-in.

“Is there room for two more?” He asked, gesturing between the two of them.

The ref held up a fist, letting the whistle fall from her lips and she looked over Donghyuck and Yangyang, hands still attached.

“Yeah, throw on a red pinny and hop onto the field. They need two midfielders.”

Yangyang thanked her quickly and continued to drag Donghyuck along, throwing a pinny at him and slipping his own over his head.

They jogged out onto the field, taking up positions to get open for the throw-in.

He stretched out hastily, praying that he wouldn’t end up in the hospital. But the familiar rush of his warming blood pumping heavily through his veins flipped the switch in his mind and all he could focus on was the ball and sending it crashing into the net on the other side.

The whistle cut through the air and the black and white mud-streaked ball flew from the opposing player’s hands, launching into the air. Donghyuck’s mind went on autopilot and he sprinted, intercepting the throw in and jerking his head to bounce it off his crown and towards the red in the corner of his vision.

Yangyang flew in, picking up the ball from Donghyuck’s pass and dribbled expertly down the field, spinning and weaving while keeping the ball too close for anyone else to steal. Donghyuck sprinted down the right wing, anticipating a cross in front of the goal and prepared to boot it into the net.

But he screeched to a halt. Yangyang tripped over an opponent’s foot, tumbling to the ground and losing control of the ball. The referee remained silent and grumbles rippled through the players on the red team.

So Donghyuck sprinted back to play defence, lungs burning already and neck sweating, but he felt the more alive than ever before in the past two years.

He’d always been a fast runner, another reason why he’d been great as a midfielder, and was able to catch the other player before they reached the half field line. He spun into their path, following them closely as he repeatedly tapped at the ball to compromise their control.

His toe connected which sent a sharp bolt of pain up his foot but it didn’t matter because the ball was rolling away.

He sprinted after it, scooping it up into his feet and took off like a rocket down the field.

When he picked up his head to look to pass, no one was open. One player was even offsides, a complicated concept he still only barely understood.

“Donghyuck, here!” Yangyang’s voice rang across the field. The German boy was sprinting down the left wing, arm raised and trying to outrun the defender covering him.

He briefly considered passing to Yangyang. But ultimately, the goal was right in front of him and he had an open shot. He could do it.

He tried to take the shot himself-and missed terribly.

_Fuck._

The goalie easily blocked the ball and jogged out to the edge of the penalty box, lobbing the ball high into the air with a strong throw.

Yangyang huffed crossly, jogging over to Donghyuck with a frown of disapproval.

“How’s it said? ‘There’s no ‘i’ in team,’ Donghyuck,” he chided mockingly, though his words lacked the heat they’d held in their previous confrontations. It almost would’ve seemed like he was just joking around with a good friend had Donghyuck not been conscious of the prejudice Yangyang held against him.

But he rolled with it. Better than trying to instigate.

“There’s no ‘u’ in team either, go back to English class Germany Boy,” he fired back with a lofty smirk.

That seemed to irk Yangyang so Donghyuck quickly retreated back to play defence.

It took a while before their team was able to get the ball back on the offence but once they did, Donghyuck was on it like cheese on macaroni. He knew where his strengths lay and was able to play them to his advantage (also given that this wasn’t super competitive and meant to be more like a scrimmage so the other team wasn’t really trying) to juke out a whole line of defenders.

As he lifted his head, looking for the pass, Yangyang’s figure flashed at the corner of his vision. He eyed the distance and deemed it doable, considering how Yangyang was sprinting towards him and the goal to get into position.

Donghyuck took two steps to set up for the pass and brought his leg back, swinging it down and connecting hard with the ball, catapulting it into the air in Yangyang’s direction.

Yangyang sprinted to control it, quickly dribbling around the other players and swooped in towards the goal. Donghyuck watched with exhilaration as the other booted the ball and nearly cheered out loud when he saw it fly into the back of the net.

The ref blew the whistle to reset and Donghyuck beamed at Yangyang who returned the smile with one of his own. Not a cocky smirk, a genuine smile.

The game carried on and Donghyuck found himself and Yangyang working tremendously well together as a team.

One would steal the ball back from the other team while the other got open farther up the field, receiving the pass and leading the charge to the other goal.

By the end, their team had won and there were smiles all around. Donghyuck had forgotten about Seungmin and Yangyang’s hateful comments from the week before. He only thought of how much fun he’d had as he rested his hands on his knees to catch his breath, watching his teammates compliment and congratulate Yangyang.

It must’ve been close to four in the afternoon when the two started to head back to campus, problems forgotten, and spirits still high from the game.

“Your cross over to that one guy and then how he passed back and you just sent it through the net, like, holy shit! I didn’t think it would make it,” Yangyang babbled, eyes bright and a light skip in his step. It was like he’d forgotten all about their deal they’d made.

“I’m just amazing like that,” he shrugged, chuckling lightly when Yangyang gently whacked his shoulder.

“Not gonna compliment your _boyfriend?”_ Yangyang asked, catching Donghyuck very off guard. His gait faltered and his brain short-circuited, leaving him as dumb as a leaf of lettuce.

“Y-you were g-good,” he forced out, hurrying a little to put some distance between them.

“Don’t act all awkward now, you’re the one who came up with this idea,” the German boy grumbled, jogging after Donghyuck.

Donghyuck rolled his eyes so far back into his head he thought he saw his brain (Renjun would argue that Donghyuck didn’t have a brain, only a single brain cell which he shared with Jeno, and taking into account recent events, it’d be dumb as shit not to agree). “Right, of course, you were great, pumpkin.”

That seemed to shut Yangyang up for a minute until he opened his mouth again. “I’m- I’m neither orange nor round…? Was that an insult??”

 _Oh right, a European._ That and they also probably didn’t study terms of endearment in school.

“No, no,” he quickly clarified, “it’s a term of endearment. Y’know, pumpkin. Sweetie, darlin, pumpkin, get it?”

His fake boyfriend nodded but mumbled something that could have very well been, “Americans,” under his breath.

Their remaining few minutes until they arrived back on campus were walked in silence until they reached the crossroads and made to part ways.

“Give me your number and I’ll text you soon. I’m giving you a three star rating for today,” Donghyuck said, pulling a pen from his pocket and rolling up his sleeve. He held out the pen for Yangyang and gestured to the skin on his arm.

“Three stars?? Out of five?” His tone of voice didn’t sound pleased but it wasn’t bordering murderous.

“Yes, three stars. Character development takes time. Now, are you gonna give me your number or not?”

Yangyang snatched the pen and carefully pressed it against Donghyuck’s arm, writing out his phone number and capping it when he finished, returning it to the owner. “Are you always this smooth when trying to get a guy’s number?” He teased.

“Only for you, snookums,” he replied, flashing a fake smile. Yangyang visibly cringed.

“One request, and that’s all from me, don’t use your weird American terms of endearment, okay? They’re just… bad.”

Donghyuck felt a laugh bubbling in his chest. “Whatever you say, cupcake.”

* * *

Two full weeks passed without a single run-in with his bitch of an ex or Yangyang and Donghyuck felt good. Maybe he wouldn’t even have to force Yangyang to pretend to do lovey-dovey couple-y things with him, seeing as he wasn’t planning on meeting with Seungmin for a walk in the park.

But his luck ran out when Jaemin approached him and Renjun with an invitation to a night of laser tag and movies.

“It’ll be fun! Think of it like a party for our friend group! Seungmin invited you and he’s gonna be bringing some of his friends, we’ll have like fifteen people. C’monnn, don’t be such a loser,” he whined, pulling on Donghyuck’s arm like a petulant toddler.

 _Seungmin_ had invited him? Sounded fake. And exactly like some bitch move Seungmin would pull, _knowing_ Donghyuck’s insecurities.

“No.”

“Donghyuck, maybe it would be good for you to get out and, I dunno, live a little,” Renjun butted in, though hesitant. “I know you’re still not on great terms with Seungmin but…”

“Why do you care? It’s not like I add anything valuable to the group,” he sulked, shaking off Jaemin and turning back to his coffee and book.

“Donghyuck, of course we care,” Jaemin insisted. “If- if you’re mad at me for asking Seungmin out, I get it, but don’t let that keep you from enjoying your life…”

He couldn’t be mad at Jaemin, Jaemin hadn’t known what their messed up relationship had been like. He was still primarily mad at Seungmin and craving revenge which -might’ve been- was definitely why he caved in the end.

He had to take a very slow and deep breath before he was able to respond. “I’ll go, but don’t expect me to play nice with Seungmin.”

Jaemin beamed. “Ay, there we go. Right then, so I’ll just text you guys the details and feel free to invite another friend!” Jaemin left them then, practically glowing. The ugly pit of jealousy began to dig back into Donghyuck’s stomach before he could block it out.

He’d show up to Jaemin’s stupid party. And he’d be sure to have some fun. A small smirk tugged at the corner of his lips and his eyes darkened.

“Are you gonna bring anyone?” Renjun asked, flipping through the newspaper he’d conjured out of thin air.

“Mmm, I have someone in mind.

**To: germany ** _Tap for contact info_

hey it’s donghyuck

 **germany:** Hello darling

we have a date  
friday evening  
ask Renjun for the details nd shit  
come to my dorm

 **germany:** Woah  
**germany:** Woah  
**germany:** Woah  
**germany:** Hold up  
**germany:** This wasn’t in the job description

it was Heavily implied

 **germany:** Doesn’t your constitution have a law against this or something?

don’t know don’t care  
be there or be square

 **germany:** Is that another absurd term of endearment?

u wish  
be there or renjun gets a sobbing donghyuck who was verbally abused by a german asshat

 **germany:** I think this is called blackmail and I don’t think it’s legal  
**germany:** …  
**germany:** Fine I’ll go  
**germany:** But you’d better boost my rating to at least four stars

sure thing Knuddelbärchen

 **germany:** Wh  
**germany:** Wh a t  
**germany:** What the literal fuck

you said no weird american terms of endearment  
that one’s german  
i think  
wait is it german  
yeah it has the a with the eyes and way too many letters

 **germany:** You’re not funny  
**germany:** Do you even know what that means??

 **germany:** Donghyuck?  
**germany:** Fine, I’ll go  
**germany:** Don’t forget to text me the details

* * *

Donghyuck scrambled to wrestle on a nice pair of jeans and an acceptable shirt of some sort. Renjun was going to head over with Jeno from his place so the dorm was empty. Which was good since he was a little nervous about his appearance and what Seungmin might think of him.

God, they weren’t even together anymore but he couldn’t stop thinking of how to please Seungmin and blend in as best he could for him.

He settled on a simple long sleeved, green and navy striped shirt, paired with simple jeans. It would have to be good enough.

Just as he was tidying his hair, there was a knock at the door. A minute later, his phone buzzed and pinged with a notification.

**germany:** I’m here babe

Donghyuck rolled his eyes. Yangyang had been surprisingly compliant with the whole fake-relationship thing and it was slightly puzzling. But he chose to ignore it; he just needed to get through this evening for now.

He answered the door and nearly fell over backwards when he laid his eyes on Yangyang.

The German boy had really cleaned up. His hair was shiny and silky, he wore a beautiful blue and red flannel shirt over a white, graphic t-shirt and nice jeans that made his legs look… _good_ … to say the least. Donghyuck would’ve definitely had a crush on the boy had he known him back in high school (he also dressed in a way that screamed cishet but Donghyuck chose not to dwell on that thought).

He was cute. The kind of Disney white boy cute that makes everyone between the ages of eight and sixteen fall in love with him. That kind of cute that could get your mother to fall in love with him. Hell, take all that back, he could be one of those k-pop idols, that’s how good he looked.

“You… you good?” Yangyang asked slowly, trying to pull Donghyuck from the thoughts in his mind. “...Fam?”

That snapped him out of his daze. “Please don’t use that word. Ever again. Or we’re breaking up.”

He retreated back into his dorm, Yangyang’s light chuckle following him, and slipped on his shoes.

“Then don’t ever use the word ‘Knuddelbärchen’ again, especially if you can’t actually pronounce it,” Yangyang argued.

“K...knoodle-... Deal.”

He grabbed a few of his things and shoved them into his pocket, returning to Yangyang and shouldering past him to lock the door.

He walked out briskly, letting Yangyang catch up, and tried to calm his raging thoughts. He was just going to meet up with some friends and play laser tag and then watch movies after. With his fake boyfriend.

No biggie.

“Hey, you okay?” Yangyang asked, falling into stride at Donghyuck’s side. “You’re… broody… is that the right word? Like, a bad kind of moody?”

Donghyuck’s spirits lifted and he chuckled quietly. He had Yangyang who cared, however forced and fake the feelings were. “Not sure. But I’m okay, thanks for asking. Just… uneasy.”

Yangyang hummed thoughtfully. “You don’t like me being your boyfriend? Am I not doing a good job?”

“Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no, you’re- you’re fine, don’t worry, it’s not you,” he quickly corrected. “I just… my ex is an absolute asshole.”

Yangyang sucked in a loud breath. “Yikes, sorry to hear that. Those are the worst…”

“Tell me about it…”

The laser tag place was bustling with little children and Donghyuck would’ve turned around and walked right back out had it not been for Yangyang’s firm arm blocking his way.

“It’ll be fun, c’mon, we don’t even have to stay for the movie if you don’t want,” Yangyang said, taking Donghyuck’s hand in his and walking up to the group. He was too stunned by the seemingly genuine kindness in the boy’s voice to resist being pulled towards the person he hated most.

“Hyuck!” Seungmin’s voice exclaimed as they made their way further into the building. Bright laser-lights made his eyes ache and the loud blings and sound effects from the nearby arcade jumbled his already messy thoughts. He tried to calm his mind and nerves but it didn’t matter when he caught sight of his ex clinging - legit attached - onto his best friend’s arm. It made him want to vomit out all the contents of his stomach and then his stomach itself.

“You’re fine, c’mon, don’t worry,” Yangyang murmured in his ear.

The gentle squeeze on Donghyuck’s hand sent a spark up his arm, giving him strength and confidence. He could do it. Seungmin wanted to stir up a fight, so that’s exactly what he was going to give him.

“Oh, who’s this?” Seungmin questioned as he strolled up with Jaemin, both boys smiling brightly. Seungmin actually looked surprised. Donghyuck returned Seungmin’s smirk with his own.

“Oh, this?” He pretended to be surprised, a rush of confidence filling him. He tilted his head, bumped it against Yangyang’s and smiled sweetly. “This is Yangyang, I think I’ve mentioned him before.”

Seungmin’s smile glitched. “Ah, yes, your _boyfriend,_ was it?”

Yangyang nodded firmly. Donghyuck would be lying to himself if he said the determination and confidence in the other boy’s eyes didn’t make his heart stutter a little. “Yes, and you are…?”

Seungmin flinched at the bite in Yangyang’s tone and Donghyuck smirked. Maybe Yangyang _had_ been a good choice.

“Seungmin,” he replied dryly. Donghyuck delighted in how Seungmin couldn’t seem to believe Yangyang was real and in the flesh and holding Donghyuck’s hand.

“Guys, the round is about to start!” Sanha called, waving everyone over to the gate. Seungmin threw a sharp glare over his shoulder and lead a slightly confused Jaemin away, leaving Donghyuck and Yangyang.

“I take it that was your asshole of an ex?” He said slowly.

“What? You can’t tell by how swimmingly we get along?” He grumbled. “C’mon, let’s just play some laser tag.”

The group participating, mostly Donghyuck’s friends and a few unfortunate ten year olds, was briefed on the rules and vests and guns. Yangyang stayed by his side the whole time, occasionally asking a question about the rules.

“Yeah, you’re not supposed to run but everyone does anyway. Just don’t knock out a tooth. Hey, wait, you’ve never played laser tag before?” Donghyuck asked.

“Nope.”

“Well this should be fun,” he grinned. “Prepare to get your ass handed to you.”

Yangyang couldn’t think of a witty comeback before Donghyuck turned on his heel and entered the vestibule where all of the vests and laser guns were hung up neatly. Everyone scrambled to get their lucky number and the room filled with beeps and the sound of the laser guns booting up.

Donghyuck slipped the vest over his head and adjusted the straps on the side to fit snuggly.

The lights blinked and then shut out, leaving the room black and lit only by the colors from the targets of each of the vests and guns. Chatter that filled the room was silenced by the countdown booming from the speakers above.

5.

4.

3.

2.

1.

The doors parted and everyone poured into the arena, trying to use the free twenty seconds to get the best shooting spot or form the best alliances that would inevitably end in seconds.

Yangyang was totally forgotten and Donghyuck camped out on a high tower, overlooking a maze where people scrambled between walls and obstacles. Perfect for sniping.

He shot anything that glowed and moved, taking everyone down one by one and reveling in their confused complaints and annoyed groans. Not that he knew when or if he shot Seungmin, but he still felt a flash of satisfaction every time he heard the other boy’s voice cry out in frustration.

*Bloop beep beep bew…*

His vest powered down and he looked around confused. He’d thought he’d been safe alone up in the tower but a flash of colored lights caught his attention. Peeking out from behind a corner, Yangyang’s bright eyes and wide grin gave him away.

“Mother bitch,” he chuckled to himself, shaking his head. He stood and chased after Yangyang, following him through the maze and aiming his gun at the target on the other boy’s back.

Yangyang twirled into a small alcove, back pressed against the wall and arm thrown over his stomach.

“Please don’t shoot me,” he begged through laughter, trying to cover the targets on his vest.

Donghyuck could barely aim straight through his own breathless laughter. “An eye for an eye,” he shrugged, repeatedly blasting Yangyang’s chest with the laser gun.

The rest of the game passed in a flash of Donghyuck chasing Yangyang and Yangyang chasing Donghyuck, and it was wonderful. He laughed the whole time, dodging Yangyang’s shots and hiding until Yangyang practically had to wrestle him off the ground so he could get a shot at one of the targets.

It was so much fun that Donghyuck barely even noticed when the ending announcement poured through the speakers and ordered all players to return their equipment and wait in the lobby for their rankings and scores.

He stood with the help of Yangyang and together they made their way back.

“I cannot believe you fucking shot me from that far away,” he groaned, still trying to catch his breath.

Yangyang grinned broadly and laughed. “I can’t believe you’re such a sneaky little bitch! You were hiding up in that tower, shooting all of us for half the game,” he shot back

“Uh, yeah, that’s the best strategy. But you just had to waltz in with your fancy German kilt and perfect aim and ruin my streak!”

“Did you just- kilts are _Irish_ you fucking idiot! Oh my fucking- you just- we’re through, go find someone else to date,” Yangyang gasped indignantly, though he was still bubbling with laughter.

“It’s all the same,” Donghyuck waved off brightly.

“No, it’s really not, Donghyuck,” he argued.

They bickered back and forth as they put away their gear and made their way out into the lobby where everyone else was clumped and waiting.

“You’re the worst,” Yangyang groaned, throwing an arm over Donghyuck’s shoulder as they approached their friends.

“No, you’re the _wurst,”_ Donghyuck shot back, breaking into a fit of uncontrollable laughter. “G-get it?? B-because it’s like _worst_ but it’s _WURST?!?!”_ He was practically howling with laughter and struggled to stand upright, one arm clutching at his aching stomach.

He was cackling so loudly he barely registered Seungmin’s steely glare from across the room. He also didn’t notice how all of his friends were fixing him with intense looks of bewilderment while he and Yangyang struggled to pull themselves together.

“That was terrible, please never say that again,” Yangyang managed through wheezes of laughter.

“Oh man I really hate myself,” Donghyuck gasped, righting himself and brushing away a tiny tear in the corner of his eye. “Comedy gold, I tell you.”

Their score sheets were shoved into their hands though they didn’t pay too much mind to their rankings overall, only if they’d beat one another.

“Boom, bitch! Fourth place! Suck on that, Germany,” Donghyuck crowed loudly, quickly searching Yangyang’s score sheet to make sure he beat the other boy.

“Damn it,” Yangyang groaned, though there was a bright smile on his face. “You only beat me by two points!”

“I’m just twice as good as you at everything, I guess,” he sassed, flipping his imaginary ponytail cockily.

They continued to bicker goodnaturedly back and forth to no end as they followed the pack out into the parking lot where they were preparing to depart and find their way to Jeno’s apartment that he shared with Jaemin. In fact, he was having such a good time with Yangyang he forgot that they weren’t really together, or even friends for that matter.

The apartment was larger than Donghyuck remembered Renjun describing it, being his second home since Jeno now had him over so frequently, and much neater than Renjun had made it out to be (but then again, Jeno had some OCD so he probably regularly vacuumed and cleaned as opposed to Donghyuck and Renjun’s own dorm).

The bright eyed and peppy duo placed their shoes by the door with the neat collection of sneakers and boots that Jaemin and Jeno seemed to share, and made their way into the living room after Jeno and Renjun.

“Make yourselves comfy cozy!” Jeno sang, throwing his arms out in every direction to gesture at every piece of furniture and place to emphasize his point. “Jaemin picked the movie options so don’t harass me if your fave ins’t there!”

Donghyuck turned to Yangyang who was still glancing around the whole space. “Do you need German subtitles?” He asked, trying hard to maintain a neutral tone and straight face.

He glared good naturedly, narrowing his eyes. “Do you need Chinese subtitles?”

Renjun overheard from the kitchen where he and Jeno were preparing snacks. “Racist!”

Fear flashed over Yangyang’s face. “Oh shit, Renjun, is he one of your Korean friends??”

“Yes, I am,” Donghyuck answered for himself, shaking his head disappointedly. “C’mon, you’re Asian too, buddy, can’t you tell us apart?”

“Listen-”

“I’m deeply ashamed that you couldn’t tell I’m Korean, should I start speaking in Korean around you?”

“ _Listen-"_

But Donghyuck was having a blast and plowed on. “Should I just wear a hanbok twenty-four seven??? Am I not Korean looking? Should I bleach my skin??”

“Donghyuck, please-”

“Renjun!! Do I not look Korean to you??!”

From the kitchen Renjun’s voice was muffled. “I think-”

Donghyuck cut him off. “My name is pretty fucking Korean, is it _not_ _?!?”_

Yangyang winced and shrugged jerkily. “Not sure what Korean sounds like. But it sounds not-American if that helps?”

Donghyuck let out an indignant gasp. “Bro, not cool,” he whined, unable to suppress a chuckle.

Just then Jaemin and Seungmin entered, arm in arm, the latter sporting a look of contempt at the sight of Donghyuck and Yangyang in such a lively mood.

“You call your boyfriend ‘bro’ Hyuck?” Seungmin inquired, eyes slightly narrowed and tone accusatory.

Donghyuck wasn’t one to use pet names and had always referred to Seungmin by his full first name when they’d dated. It had been something Seungmin expressed his distaste for on multiple occasions. And now here he was, calling his supposed boyfriend “bro” which most definitely didn’t look very good in Seungmin’s eyes for whatever reason. He didn’t understand why. He hadn’t used pet names for Seungmin and now the other just seemed to be trying to poke holes into their (fake) relationship.

Donghyuck now also had to pretend he didn’t feel Renjun’s gaze boring holes into the back of his head as he tried to casually answer Seungmin.

“I’m just… y’know, pet names aren't really my style, not for this mood or whatever,” he shrugged stupidly.

Seungmin fixed him with a stare. “Oh of course, no, I just thought it was a bit out of character for you…”

“Well maybe you never knew my true character anyway, after all you were always trying to hide who I am,” he fired back and walked away to find a seat on the couch. Yangyang followed after, looking a little lost, though he didn’t ask about anything and kept a friendly distance from Donghyuck as they sat down while a few other friends trickled in and Jeno brought out the snacks.

Renjun caught Donghyuck’s eye and gave him a very pointed look - with an arched brow and everything - before turning his attention to Jeno who was trying to speak to the group.

“Alrighty kiddos, we’ve got a limited number of options because Jaemin’s a dumbass and only got three movies for us to pick from,” he announced, setting down several family sized bags of doritos and a dozen cans of root beer.

He left the room only to return a moment after with a few DVD cases in hand. “Jaemin got… The Lion King-”

Yangyang raised his hand, despite not being in a class setting. For some reason it really did a number on Donghyuck whose head was left spinning and his mouth puckered in an attempt not to snort. “Isn’t that a kid’s show?”

“No it’s a movie, dumbass, and a good one at that,” Jaemin corrected.

“-Frozen-”

“Jaemin you’re fired,” Donghyuck cut in, sending a sharp glare at the other boy.

“What did I do?!”

“Frozen is actually amazing lesbian representation, like, Queen Elsa snatched my motherfucking wig-”

“Do you want to lose your balls?? Stop with the stan slang, Renjun!”

“-and Crazy Rich Asians.”

“I’ve un-fired you.”

“Crazy Rich Asians, let’s get it!” Seungmin cheered. Nearly all of the other people in the room agreed so Jeno popped the disk into the beat-up, old DVD player - “We can’t afford Netflix or any of that jazz.” - and took a seat next to Renjun on the ground in front of the couch.

The movie played but Donghyuck couldn’t pay attention. Seungmin’s eyes were on him for the whole first fifteen minutes and it was making him very uncomfortable. He couldn’t tell Seungmin to mind his own fucking business, he’d get smoked for interrupting the film, but just the contempt in his ex’s eyes was unbearable.

He scooched over closer to Yangyang and leaned against his side, earning a look of surprise and confusion.

“Play along,” he whispered, sneaking a glance at Seungmin on the other end of the couch.

Yangyang awkwardly wrapped his arm around Donghyuck’s shoulders, letting it barely hover over his body, and shifted in his seat.

Seungmin’s glare didn’t waver.

_Ah, fuck you, Seungmin. What do you need from us, public sex?_

“Yangyang,” he murmured, snuggling into his side.

He felt the other boy tense up at the intimate gesture and expected to remain resting against Yangyang’s uncomfortably stiff shoulder when the boy surprisingly relaxed, his head knocking gently against Donghyuck’s as he let himself lean into the touch.

Had Donghyuck been required to give a summary of the movie, he would’ve failed pathetically due to the distractingly warm and gentle hand that rested on his waist throughout the entire night.

And that warmth was so distracting, he didn’t even notice how a certain someone’s gaze had jumped from him to the boy posing as his boyfriend.

* * *

“I think I fell for him.”

“You’ve fallen and you can’t get up?”

“Shut your face, Renjun, I’m dead serious!”

Renjun calmly took a sip of his tea. “Oh no, I can tell. It’s as plain as the lovey eyes you both give each other. I mean, I've _never_ seen Yangyang act like this before, you know? Like, being open about who he is.”

Donghyuck’s head snapped up. “He- What?”

Just then Renjun’s phone buzzed violently. “Oh fuck.”

He picked it up and brought it to his ear, listening intently before firing off an answer in rapid Mandarin. Donghyuck didn’t even try to understand and propped his head up on a fist.

The storm of thoughts and feelings rolling through his head made it easy to ignore Renjun but hard to think.

When he’d come mostly clean to Renjun about his little predicament, his roommate had been surprisingly chill about it, nodding once at the end with a quiet “huh” and retreated under the covers for the night. Of course, in the morning, he was chewed out to no end, lectured on not breaking Yangyang’s delicate heart with an additional ten minutes spent by Renjun simply gushing over how he was delighted that they were finally getting along.

No, he had not told Renjun about the little deal they’d made and simply affirmed that Yangyang was being really nice to him. Neither mentioned the old (but never forgotten) homophobic comments.

Donghyuck also never noticed how Renjun hadn’t said _anything_ about Yangyang being Not Gay, like the oblivious fuck he is.

He squinted and frowned, attaching his thinking cap securely to his head.

He had a problem. Which was, he was in the process of (or already had, depending on who you asked) falling for his fake - _FAKE_ \- boyfriend.

He needed to solve said problem. As of yet, his options consisted of: ignoring the problem until it went away.

Seeing as that’s how he’d ever so expertly decided to deal with Seungmin, this was an awful option. And Hyuck really didn’t want a repeat of his Seungmin situation.

He racked his brain, fishing for other, better options.

After three minutes of painful emptiness he concluded that his brain was a piece of shit and he’d need to consult someone else’s brain for answers.

Thirteen minutes later he found himself sat in front of quite possibly the worst person to seek out in this particular situation.

Across the small, cheap diner table, round, doe eyes blinked disorientedly through a pair of gold, circular frames, accompanied by the quiet jazz music in the background and obnoxious slurping.

Mark slurped his bubble tea for ten seconds longer - almost long enough to give Donghyuck a good reason to reach over and clock him on the head - and swallowed, his rapidly blinking eyes never leaving Donghyuck’s.

“Dude… you know I’m asexual, right?”

“Uhh, yeah, your point?”

“... And grayromantic…”

The loud slap of a palm hitting a forehead echoed in the calm diner. “Oh shit, forgot about that.”

Mark shrugged and swirled what could not have possibly been more than two drops of tea left in his cup, eyes finally leaving Donghyuck’s to drop onto the table between them. “Don’t worry about it, s’kinda hard to remember I guess, since…” Mark shook his head quickly to dislodge the thought. “Sorry, just- how would you like me to help?”

A sharp stab of sympathy shot through Donghyuck and he felt his heart deflate at Mark’s clear shift in mood. Delicately, he let himself reach across the table and lay down his hand, palm up.

Mark glanced at his outstretched hand for a minute, like he wasn’t entirely sure if he wanted to drag this out any longer, but ultimately let his own hand fall into Donghyuck’s, squeezing tightly.

“I miss him…” Mark whispered, eyes bright and voice thick. Donghyuck squeezed back, not hard enough to hurt but enough to comfort his friend.

He took a slow, steadying breath and reached with his other hand, gently tipping Mark’s chin up to look him in the eyes. “I know you do, and that’s okay, you’re allowed to be sad. Just don’t let it drag you down, alright? Promise me that if you start thinking too much about him again, you’ll call me and we’ll talk it through, alright?”

Mark pressed his lips into a thin line, jerked his head in a tiny nod and let his gaze drop back down to the table. “Thank you… Hyuck…”

A small, sad smile tugged at the corners of his lips. “Of course, Mark.”

Mark stared dejectedly at their linked fingers for a few minutes, lost in his head, and Donghyuck let him be. He’d been the same after his fallout with Seungmin.

Eventually Mark lifted his head again, sliding his hand from Donghyuck’s. “Sorry, now what was this about liking a boy, again?”

He offered a small smile. “I think I fell for someone… but he’s fucking obnoxious and loud and never knows when to shut up and just teases me to no end-”

“I think I know someone very similar to that,” Mark smirked, picking his empty cup back up to resume slurping irritatingly.

Donghyuck frowned and paused mid rant, names and faces flashing through his mind while he tried to pinpoint who Mark might’ve been referring to. “Who… who are you- oh you little _bastard_. _"_

Mark snickered loudly, cheek’s lifting and eyes flashing with mirth. “I kid, I kid! But it really does sound like you and this boy were separated at birth based on the four adjectives you used.”

“You can fuck right off.”

Mark raised his hands in surrender but didn’t even bother trying to hide his wide grin. “Hey, you’re the one who enlisted _me.”_

“That’s unimportant,” Donghyuck scoffed, waving his hand in the air dismissively, but allowed the corner of his lips to tick upwards. “I just need a second opinion on whether or not I should even bother. Like, are these even romantic feelings or am I just growing tolerant of his asshole-ish personality.”

His friend slurped loudly. “Well, firstly, “asshole” is not a nice word - _please don’t slap me I was kidding_ \- secondly, you’re the only one who can say whether your feelings are platonic or romantic, it varies from person to person. Thirdly, if you’re exhausting this much energy to seek out my ace-grayro counsel, I think it’s worth a shot. Or at least talking it out with him.”

A few heartbeats of silence passed between them, Donghyuck replaying Mark’s words in his head. He squinted into the air, trying to sort through the tangled ball of thoughts and feelings.

He groaned loudly, letting the few thoughts he’d pieced together fall away and jumble once more in his mind, and dropped his head onto the table.

Mark slurped.

By the time he’d wrapped up his day and stumbled into his bed, he was exhausted and didn’t care enough to undress himself. It’s not like sleeping in jeans would kill him, right?

He crawled under the covers, fishing out his phone from his lump of stuff on the ground, unlocking it and checking his notifications.

Yangyang’s contact name popped up on his screen.

**germany:** Hey, just wanted to make sure you’re alright

The corners of his mouth tugged down into a slight frown. It seemed uncharacteristic of Yangyang to care about his well being outside of their fake-dating act.

Then a second message zipped in.

**germany:** I’m sorry if I crossed a boundary last night by getting too close

Oh.

_Oh._

Yangyang cared about Donghyuck and his personal space? Crazy.

don’t worry it was fine but thanks

He tapped out the quick reply, feeling his heart leap for no good reason, and shut his phone down for the night. He shimmied further down into the blankets and let sleep wrap around him.

Yangyang seemed to care, much more than Donghyuck ever thought he could. Maybe, just maybe, this could work.

* * *

Two days after running into Mark’s arms Donghyuck made up his mind.

He’d ignore his little (big) German problem for another week and reevaluate.

Since he had no reason to talk to Yangyang outside of their little act, he didn’t hear from the boy for five days.

And the slight twinge in his stomach that persisted over four of the five days was most certainly wasn’t related in any way shape or form.

Unfortunatey for him, once again, the universe was out to fuck him right in the ass.

“No,” was his immediate and blunt reply. But he could already feel himself caving.

Jeno rolled his eyes from the other end of the couch, like he knew Donghyuck was all bark and no bite as always, and Jaemin heaved a tired sigh.

“Why not? You don’t even need to talk to him,” Jaemin tried to reason.

Donghyuck scowled. “He spent all of his time bitching and glaring at me when we played laser tag and watched the movie. I’m not going to willingly choose to spend more time around him than I have to.”

Jeno yawned. “Yeah but just like, bring your boyfriend and sit far away from Seungmin.”

Jaemin turned and frowned at Jeno at that comment. “But _I_ still wanna sit near Hyuck…”

Donghyuck snorted not all that kindly. “You gave up that privilege when you chose to ask him out.”

Silence crushed the mood and Donghyuck met Jaemin’s challenging glare with his own.

“Alright, I’m sick of this,” Jeno declared after watching the intense glaring match happening between his friends. “Hyuck, just come, Renjun and I will give you a lift with your boyfriend and we’ll meet Jaemin and Seungmin and co. at the theater. Just keep your distance and Jaemin will keep his boyfie under control, alright? Great.”

Without waiting for an answer, Jeno stood and walked into the apartment kitchen, going to rummage through the fridge.

Donghyuck didn’t have the energy or the will to argue anymore and accepted his fate, pulling his phone from his pocket and shooting a quick text to Yangyang.

date? this wednesday?

He got a response alarmingly fast.

**germany:** What time?  
**germany:** I have an appointment from 15:00 - 16:30

what the fuck

 **germany:** …What..?

why did you write the time like that  
it looks awful  
change it

 **germany:** ??? I have no idea what you’re talking about

well the date is at the cinema  
5pm

 **germany:** God I hate 12/12 time  
**germany:** But yeah, I’ll be there

k then  
jeno will give us a lift so just meet at my place

 **germany:** I can’t wait, Häschen

...  
if i google translate that and find out you just called me a bitch i’m breaking up with you

“He’s in,” Donghyuck announced, tossing his phone onto the coffee table and reclining against the worn, comfy cushions.

* * *

Wednesday rolled around much too fast for Donghyuck’s liking and he found himself pulling on a pair of tight-fitting acid washed jeans paired with a casual but elegant sweater topped off with a leather jacket. It had been one of his go-to’s when he went out with Seungmin, who would berate him for standing out too much in his more androgynous and fierce style.

“Who am I even trying to impress,” he muttered to himself as he slipped in a diamond stud and brushed on a smudge of smokey eyeshadow, two new additions that Seungmin would’ve most definitely criticized him for.

But… for the first time in a while, he didn’t care. He felt a little safer around Yangyang and although the other boy’s prejudices were something to take into account, he would never shame Donghyuck in public like some other person had.

The plan had since morphed from simply viewing a movie as a group to getting burgers and fries at a local diner and then walking five blocks to get to the theater. Donghyuck was never one to turn down fattening, greasy foods but the thought of being forced to sit and make conversation with Seungmin ruined his appetite.

A buzz from his phone interrupted his thoughts and after a few finishing touches to his hair, he padded over to his bed to check the message.

**germany:** I’m here

Donghyuck stuffed his phone into his pocket, stepped into a pair of sneakers and grabbed his wallet and keys off the dresser before opening his door.

Yet again, he found himself floored by how incredibly well Yangyang transformed himself from a kinda jock-y, kinda douche-y dressed kid to a… well, kind of a badass. A _mature_ badass, to clarify. He sported a white racing jacket with red, black and yellow accents, black joggers and knee-high black boots with flat, white laces criss-crossed all the way up his shins.

Donghyuck had to try much harder than he would’ve liked to repress the feelings that rose from his gut at the sight of Yangyang. Swiftly, he closed the door, locked it and strode down the hall to exit the complex with Yangyang at his heels.

“Woah, slow down there,” Yangyang called after Donghyuck who was hurdling down the stairs.

“No can do,” he shot back, hopping up to perch on the railing and slide smoothly down the rest of the flight. “I live life in the fast lane.”

“Oh yeah? That’s how you’re gonna get yourself killed,” Yangyang scolded with a smirk, approaching the step where Donghyuck had decided to slide the rest of the way.

“You’re just jealous because you’re not as cool as I am,” he goaded, pleased when his (fake) boyfriend’s eyes narrowed at the challenge.

In an instant, Yangyang was perched on the rail, just like Donghyuck had been, and let himself zoom down the remaining distance, dismounting with a quiet thud. The German boy quirked a smug brow at Donghyuck and pushed past him out the door.

* * *

“What took you so long?” Seungmin asked the quartet as they walked up to the diner where several other people were already waiting.

Donghyuck inwardly gagged at the way Seungmin was latched onto Jaemin’s arm and chose to let some other unfortunate soul answer the question. He slipped his hand into Yangyang’s (with much more ease and willingness than he’d like to admit), linked their fingers and walked into the diner without sparing Seungmin so much as a glance.

“Jeez, someone’s grumpy today,” Yangyang commented as Donghyuck sat them in a booth.

“Not grumpy,” he scowled, trying to banish any and all thoughts relating to his ex from his mind. “Just really hate that boy.”

Yangyang opened his mouth, like he wanted to comment on that but ultimately thought better of it and let his jaw snap shut again, content with staying seated at Donghyuck’s side in tense silence.

Donghyuck didn’t seem to notice, and if he did then he didn’t seem to care that they were stuck in an awkward silence because he was too busy trying to tame his raging mind.

He was starting to wish he could’ve re-done everything with Yangyang. Actually, that had been the sentiment for the past couple of days as he spent more and more time stuck thinking about the past.

Did he feel bad for blackmailing Yangyang? No.

Would he do it again given the chance? ……… No. He’d want to form a better, more authentic relationship with Yangyang, even if it was only a friendship.

In fact, the more he thought about it, it became more and more clear that his (fake) relationship with Yangyang was headed in the same direction as his old relationship with Seungmin.

_God fucking damnit._

“Hyuck, how’s it going!” Jaemin greeted, shattering his thoughts and causing his head to snap to the voice.

“Peachy keen.”

“Aww, why the long face?”

God, Seungmin’s voice had gone from a symphony of singing angels to nails on a chalkboard and Donghyuck itched to rip his ears off.

“There is no face, just mind your own business,” he grumbled.

Seungmin, unfazed, shrugged and called over a waiter to take their order. Their collective table, Hyuck, Yangyang, Seungmin, and Jaemin (Donghyuck had no fucking clue how that happened but it did), ordered two baskets of curly fries, three cheeseburgers, a salad and two large milkshakes for themselves and fell into an awkward silence after the waiter left.

“I have an idea,” Seungmin said suddenly and Donghyuck was so ready to stand up and walk out, curly fries be damned.

“Yeah, babe? What is it?”

Donghyuck swore he threw up in his mouth a little.

“We should do a little bit of couples’ trivia! Since you two are together now and I’m with Jaemin, let’s just have a bit of friendly competition,” he said, face innocent but voice dropping with a slyness that made Donghyuck want to wring his scrawny, stupid little neck.

Jaemin, oblivious as fuck or too enamored to care, nodded happily at the idea. “Sounds fun! I think I know you pretty well, huh?”

A bitter taste rose in the back of Donghyuck’s throat, perhaps the vomit from twenty seconds ago, and he could only look at Jaemin and wonder what the fuck was wrong with his brain.

But a light hand on his shoulder brushed the thoughts away and made him turn to look into his (fake) boyfriend’s eyes.

“Hyuckie and I don’t mind a little challenge. After all, we spent months on skype together so this shouldn’t be a problem, unless you’re amnesic,” Yangyang grinned, letting his hand drop to Donghyuck’s thigh under the table and oh fuck, his hand was warm against his jeans and he had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from freaking out.

Him and Seungmin had shared fairly intimate moments together, occasionally letting their hands roam over the other’s body or spending more time with their tongue’s down each other’s throats than in their own mouths. So technically, he knew Seungmin pretty well; he could remember the stretches of skin on his neck that made him laugh, which ones made him weak and just how to flick his tongue against the shell of his ear to draw out a loud gasp-

_Jesus. I’m over him, stop fucking thinking about him._

The hand on his thigh tightened slightly, jolting him back into the present.

Seungmin leaned over the table and let his eyes trace almost uncomfortably slowly over Yangyang’s face.

“So Donghyuck,” Jaemin began, uninterested in how Seungmin was literally batting his eyelashes at Yangyang in a way that made Hyuck’s stomach churn, “what’s your boyfriend’s favorite color?”

_Jesus help._

Before he could answer, his thigh twitched and it took every ounce of self-control to not flinch away and instead let Yangyang’s delicate finger trace the letters R-E-D over the material of his jeans. It sent tingles shooting up his leg and tickled in such a pleasant way that he nearly forgot to answer the question.

“Oh, uh, red.”

He relaxed as he felt Yangyang’s hand against his thigh still, but remain as a warm, comforting presence, and smiled pleasantly at a shocked Seungmin.

“Alright, I guess you can ask one of us a question now,” Jaemin shrugged, slinging an arm over Seungmin’s shoulder to pull him against his side. Hyuck couldn’t help but puzzle over how Seungmin didn’t seem content with being nuzzled against Jaemin’s side when all he’d wanted out of their past relationship was intimacy and sex.

Yangyang cleared his throat, pensive. “Uhhh, oh! Okay, Jaemin, what’s Seungmin’s favorite food?”

Jaemin’s brow furrowed and he squinted into the distance. “Ah, fuck… Hold on, was it something like…… watermelon?”

Seungmin lurched off of Jaemin’s shoulder, fixing him with a deeply betrayed look. “Eggs! I like eggs the best,” he corrected, trying hard to hide his displeasure.

Jaemin’s face flushed. “Ahhh, damnit, you’re right! That was Mar- my ex’s favorite,” Jaemin groaned, pulling Seungmin back against him and pressing a kiss to the crown of his head.

Donghyuck felt himself flinch at Jaemin’s mention of his ex and tried not to dwell on it. “Well, your go now.”

“Yangyang, what’s Donghyuck’s zodiac sign?”

Yangyang hesitated and blinked rapidly. “Uhhh, Chinese zodiac or like, star sign?”

“Star sign. We were all born in the same year so that would be a cheap shot,” Seungmin shrugged.

A finger jabbed into his thigh and before he could chew out Yangyang, the realization dawned on him that now it was _his_ turn to cheat the system.

Quickly and subtly, he slipped his hand onto the stiff material of Yangyang’s joggers and traced out the letter G while Yangyang pretended to think.

“Ah! Gemini,” he exclaimed not a second after Donghyuck finished the first letter.

Seungmin frowned and nodded, perhaps a little baffled by their seemingly impeccable connection.

“Yeah and it’s nice because I’m a libra and when I looked up our horoscopes it said we’re super compatible!” Yangyang added as an afterthought, turning to gaze fondly(?) at his (fake) boyfriend. Donghyuck sweetly returned the smile and leaned into Yangyang’s shoulder.

He didn’t have time to check Seungmin’s reaction because the waiter returned, balancing trays heaping with steaming hot food.

“Ohh man, I didn’t realize how hungry I was,” Jaemin mumbled, hastily thanking the waiter and chopping down on his burger.

Donghyuck handed Yangyang the burger he’d ordered and picked out his own from the tray, snatching a handful of fries to complete his greasy meal. They are mostly in silence, Donghyuck shouting across the aisle to converse a bit with Sanha, Jeno and Renjun occasionally and sometimes Jaemin attempting to make conversations between the four of them.

Donghyuck felt content and oddly satisfied with how Yangyang had said their signs were compatible. In fact, he felt so content that he didn’t notice how Seungmin’s eyes barely left Yangyang.

The squad of guys hit the streets soon after their burgers and milkshakes, navigating the traffic like the pros they were all while trying to maintain a healthy atmosphere.

“So, uh, Yangyang,” Seungmin began, falling into step with Donghyuck and Yangyang to sidle up to Yangyang. “Hyuck told me you’re from Germany, that’s _so_ cool!”

Donghyuck’s jaw clenched. He could feel his metaphorical hackles raise at the provocative purr in his ex’s voice and the way he let his shoulder bump and brush with Yangyangs.

He’d fully expected Yangyang to tell Seungmin to fuck off, since that’s what Donghyuck _wanted_ him to do, and was shocked to watch Yangyang flash his perfect, white smile and answer kindly.

“Well, I mostly live and study in Germany but, as you might be able to tell, I’m of Taiwanese descent,” he informed, still smiling at Seungmin like _they_ were the ones (fake) dating.

Donghyuck needed every ounce of control in his body to not smack them both for blatantly flirting in front of his face.

Seungmin gushed. “That’s _so_ cool! You can speak Taiwanese, German _and_ English??”

“Mmmm, to be honest my Taiwanese is really rusty but yes and in addition, I also speak Mandarin and a little bit of Cantonese my friends taught me,” he chuckled. “You’re also one of Renjun’s Korean friends, right? So are you able to speak that too?”

Donghyuck inwardly seethed at how Seungmin visibly glowed and coyly brushed his bangs over his forehead. Yangyang was entirely oblivious to both boys wrestling for his attention and blissfully carried on his conversation.

“Well, I mean, yeah but I don’t speak Korean a whole lot. Only around family and when we’re trying to spill tea in public,” Seungmin shrugged, letting his eyes drop in mock modesty. “Although I’d love to visit the motherland one of these days and really immerse myself in my roots and culture.”

Yangyang beamed. “Wow, that’s really admirable of you! I’ve also been thinking about taking a trip back to Taiwan just to live as the rest of my family does.”

Seungmin giggled and that was the last straw.

Donghyuck snatched up Yangyang’s hand and quickened his pace to leave very little room on the sidewalk for Seungmin to try and occupy.

“What-”

Yangyang didn’t finish whatever it was he was going to ask because the murderous glare in Donghyuck’s eyes suggested that it was best if he didn’t and waited until things had calmed down.

Sighing deeply, he took Donghyuck’s hand in his, squeezed reassuringly and let himself think back through recent events to try and identify a reason for Donghyuck to be positively pissed at him. He couldn’t recall saying or doing anything out of the ordinary and was still puzzled by the time they reached the movie theater, bought their tickets and sat in their seats.

 _Donghyuck must be a little touchy today, that’s all,_ he concluded and settled in for what he hoped would be a movie worth his time.

The sinking feeling of dread and irritation in the pit of Donghyuck’s stomach was amplified the second they stepped foot into the theater to watch the film.

It was some shit movie called “The Good Dinosaur” or something and Donghyuck was completely unable to pay attention because Seungmin was a row in front of him and glued by the mouth to Jaemin.

Now, it’s surely universally understood that horny teens and college students have the _(very)_ high potential to turn up at a movie theater, sit in the back and just play a little bit of tonsil hockey throughout the movie. Donghyuck was stupid to forget this principle.

Everyone else around them were sharing very intimate-looking moments in the dark and empty theater (save for an elderly couple seated in the very first row) and Donghyuck could no longer pay attention to the movie even if he tried to.

Of course then, as Donghyuck was finally starting to block out the sounds of people making out and the awful backing track for the movie to focus on this mess he’d gotten himself into, Seungmin detached himself from Jaemin and turned in his seat to face Donghyuck.

Unimpressed and still outraged, he didn’t pay his ex much attention until Seungmin began raking his eyes up and down Yangyang’s body.

“Hyuck, if you’re uncomfortable you can move somewhere else,” he purred and though his words were directed at Donghyuck, Seungmin’s eyes never left Yangyang.

He felt Yangyang next to him shift so before he could actually give his decision some thought, he shook his head. “No, just carry on and don’t mind us,” he snapped, draping an arm around Yangyang’s shoulder to pull him possessively against his side.

Seungmin didn’t react in the slightest and reconnected with Jaemin’s waiting lips, though as Donghyuck watched him he prickled at how Seungmin seemed to have nearly zero interest in the boy who was kissing him and instead had his focus solely on Donghyuck’s (FAKE) boyfriend.

Tearing his eyes from Seungmin’s face, Donghyuck leaned in towards Yangyang and let his nose brush along his (fake) boyfriend’s cheek.

“Can I kiss you?” He whispered almost inaudibly.

Yangyang, being the smooth fucker he was, chose not to answer verbally and twisted his head, tenderly pressing his lips against Donghyuck’s and oh sweet jesus his lips were sweet and warm and soft and _heavenly_.

He blushed furiously at the high-pitched whine that escaped into the air and reached up with both hands to cup Yangyang’s face and pulled him closer.

It was slow, very unlike the impatient, smothering kisses he and Seungmin had shared, and it stirred something deep in his tummy, warming his entire body from head to toe.

In seconds Donghyuck found himself lost in the heat of the moment, Seungmin forgotten along with the fact that he and Yangyang weren’t even _friends_ let alone _real_ boyfriends. But it didn’t matter because they were both so lost in each other that neither minded how a particular jealous, ex boyfriend was watching with a sharp glint in his eyes.

Now, Donghyuck did not in any way shape or form consider himself to be a shallow person. He told himself that he’d date whomever his heart gravitated towards - which was more often men than not - and that physical imperfections were irrelevant when it came to true love. “Physical imperfections” also fell under the kissing ability category and was a big mistake on his part for agreeing to date Seungmin.

They’d talked a whopping three times before they’d spontaneously gotten together after making out at some frat party and literally knew next to nothing about the other except how he liked being kissed and touched. So while deciding to date someone based on kissing abilities was very much considered shallow, he’d admit that he’d been more shallow his freshman year.

However _now_ that he’d actually kissed Yangyang, he knew for sure that this would’ve been his ideal type under any other circumstance. Witty, a little sardonic, charming, outrageously cute and gorgeous, energetic and a good kisser. Obviously the list goes on but the writer may or may not be trying to meet a deadline with this so they don’t quite have the time to pick more descriptive adjectives.

Taking all this into account would be a great explanation for why Donghyuck found himself uncharacteristically possessive of Yangyang and some (everyone) might even go as far to say that his fully developed and irrevocable crush on the charming German lad was what started the fire, so to speak.

Both Donghyuck and Yangyang had found it extremely difficult to pull away from each other once they’d started and by the end of the movie, their lips were sore, swollen, slick and searching for more. But thankfully, they were able to untangle their limbs and stand on shaky knees to exit with the rest of the group, hand in hand.

They’d both had such a good time in each other’s embrace that they’d forgotten how not really dating they were. When the group had stumbled out of the theater into the golden light of the setting sun, they were all in good spirits, laughing and joking freely with one another. In fact, Donghyuck felt so at ease that he was willing to forgive Yangyang entirely for flirting with Seungmin.

That is, until Seungmin sauntered up to them and pushed Donghyuck’s buttons one time too many.

“Go away Seungmin,” he snapped immediately, tightly gripping Yangyang’s hand in his. “I don’t need you to drag me through the mud any more than you already have today.”

Seungmin, being the manipulative bitch he was, feigned offense and hurt. “Hyuck, I’d invited you to come because I thought we were able to move on from our past like _mature adults_. But today you’ve done _nothing_ but prove to me that you haven’t changed one bit,” he sniffed, turning on his heel and strutting away with his nose high in the air.

Donghyuck missed how everyone slowly cleared the area so as not to be left dead by Donghyuck’s impending outburst because he was too wrapped up in thoughts of wringing the prick’s neck and inflicing the same, if not more, emotional pain he’d felt when Seungmin had left him in his time of need.

He also didn’t notice how Yangyang had dropped his hand and taken two steps back, regarding him with the kind of scrutiny you would use when looking at someone who’d just killed your dog.

“Donghyuck. Tell me what’s been going on. Why do you hate him so much?”

He looked up and felt the anger in his trembling fingers flash and grow. “No, shut the _fuck_ up! I don’t have to tell you jack _shit!”_

Yangyang flinched at the venom and wrath in his words as if he’d been physically slapped. “Donghyuck, you won’t tell me what’s wrong! And I know I signed up just to be your “fake” boyfriend but have you ever stopped to think for a second that I _actually_ _care??_ That I’m not just sticking around because you’re threatening me??”

Donghyuck felt hot tears slip down his cheek. He didn’t fully register what Yangyang was saying, only that he seemed to be against Donghyuck. “It doesn’t fucking _matter_ okay?! You don’t have to fucking _lie_ to my fucking _face_ just like everyone else! I _saw_ you flirting with him!”

“What the fuck are you talking about?! I have no idea how you expect me to just be an asshole to someone I know nothing about! You’re fucking _using_ me and I think I deserve a little more background on why!”

“Oh go fuck yourself! Don’t fucking pretend to care, we both know you don’t! You wanted to know how long you were signed into this fucked up deal, right? Well you’re free to go, you’re on your fucking own!” Donghyuck’s voice cracked with rage and the tears flowed freely, winding salty, glistening tracks down his flushed cheeks. Yangyang, seeming to finally have understood the gravity of the situation, took a step back and let his gaze soften into something much more akin to worry and regret.

“Wait, Donghyuck, please-”

But his words fell upon deaf ears because Donghyuck had already crumpled to his knees, shuddering sobs muffled into his hands as he felt his world fall apart all over again.

In an instant his friends were at his side, Sanha wrapping a protective arm around his shuddering shoulders with Jaemin chewing the shit out of a rather guilty looking Seungmin and Renjun doing his best to get Donghyuck to remember how to breathe.

Yangyang could only watch helplessly, warded off by a razor sharp glare from Sanha every time he tried to take a step closer, and bit the inside of his cheek to keep himself grounded.

He’d really fucked this one up, huh?

A gentle hand fluttered down onto his shoulder and he turned to meet a familiar but unknown pair of soft eyes.

“Let’s take a little walk and give him some space to cool down, yeah?” The boy, Jeno was it?, suggested and gently but firmly guided Yangyang away from the scene.

Yangyang easily followed, not wanting to upset Donghyuck any further and let himself be lead to a peaceful, little café about a block from the movie theater.

“You want anything? I’ll spot you if you’re all out from the movie,” Maybe Jeno offered after ordering a blueberry scone and a medium iced latte with vanilla swirl for himself and a concerningly large iced americano with four extra shots of espresso, which Yangyang ultimately dubbed the Death Drink and prayed that Jeno wasn’t going to down it in front of his eyes. Yangyang was too wrapped up in his own thoughts to properly process the American slang and squinted at the other boy.

“I’m sorry?”

“Uh, like, I’ll pay for you if you’re outta cash or whatever,” Maybe Jeno explained.

“Oh, uh… yeah, that would be nice, thanks,” he mumbled, propping his head up on his elbow.

“Yeah, of course,” Maybe Jeno smiled and let Yangyang order his own muffin and coffee.

Maybe Jeno didn’t make him talk, at least not until the food came, for which he was grateful. It gave him enough time to work out that a) Jeno was in fact his name, b) Jeno didn’t seem like the kind of guy to treat another to a coffee and a muffin only to beat them up seconds later, and c) that he probably had some explaining and to do.

“So.” Jeno took a small sip from the metal straw he’d brought from home - “I’m saving the turtles, don’t give me that look.” - and fixed Yangyang with a Start telling me everything” look.

He heaved a sigh and pushed a hand through his hair, messing up the ten minutes of hard work he’d spent to get it to look nice for his “date” and met Jeno’s eyes.

“I fucked up. I think.”

“Mmmmm. Tell me about that.”

Yangyang bit back a laugh, unsure if that had been meant to come off as comical, and did his best to answer the question.

“I just- I don’t know how much I can tell you without Donghyuck getting even more mad at me but…”

Jeno took a contemplative bite out of his scone and washed it down with a sip from his coffee. “If it’s any help, he’ll hear none of this conversation from me. At least not until you’re ready, he hates having secrets kept from him.”

Okay, he could work with that.

“Uh, alright… well… damn I- I really have no idea where to start…….” Then again, how _does_ one start a conversation about how they fell for the boy they were only supposed to be fake dating but fucked things up apparently by not reading things right?

Jeno took a long, slow slurp from his metal straw and thought for a moment. “Well, let’s start with, why do you think you fucked up?”

He blinked. Wasn’t it obvious? “I, uh, Hyuck is sad now and I kinda blew it I think. Like, I just said some things I probably shouldn’t have said-”

“But what makes it think that _you_ were the one who sparked this conflict and, “blew it” with him? Couldn’t it very well be Donghyuck’s fault as well, if not more for losing his cool in the first place?” Jeno pressed, taking a nibble from his scone.

Yangyang flinched. “I- Well, it just- Um…” He frowned. “Hey, I thought you were his friend, why are you trying to blame him?”

Jeno nodded slowly, sipping calmly from his metal straw. “I am. I just prefer to play devil’s advocate in situations such as these because it usually helps my friends get a bigger picture or have an outside point of view. If you’d like me to stop and instead let you vent, I’m more than happy to oblige.”

For someone who rarely took himself seriously, Jeno spoke with years of wisdom and experience. It was hard to refuse his help.

“No, no, it’s fine, uh, thanks…”

“Right, so back to the question. Why are you going straight to blaming yourself?”

He had to think really hard, shoveling through the mess of emotions that clouded his head. “I… uhh…… because Hy- Donghyuck doesn’t deserve to be blamed for something out of his control? I dunno?? I just feel better thinking that this was my fault and something I can fix by just… getting out of his life. If that’s what it takes, y’know?”

“Interesting…”

“.... What?”

“Never mind. What do you mean by ‘fix’ though?” Jeno asked instead, stirring the ever shrinking ice cubes in his cup with his metal straw.

Yangyang sighed and gave a lame shrug. “I- I guess just make it up to him? I- God, I just feel awful for pushing him to tell me something that wasn’t my business, you know? I mean- fuck, why did I even care in the first place?” He groaned, slumping down onto the table.

Jeno sipped and pulled off the straw with a quiet ‘pop’ before placing his cup back down onto the table. “You want my opinion or should I have you chase your own tail for a few minutes longer?”

“Har har, you’re just as funny as Donghyuck, no wonder you guys are friends,” he grumbled, though the light hearted humor lifted his mood slightly.

“I’ll take that as a ‘I’m in dire need of your assistance’ and give you my take. From the,” he glanced up at the clock on the wall, “fifteen minutes I’ve spent with you, it’s obvious that you care deeply for Donghyuck-”

“What?! How’d you-”

“Yangyang. Blaming yourself for something that was bound to happen because you don’t think Donghyuck deserves it is a _major_ red flag. Not to mention how you feel guilty and are stressing over Donghyuck’s emotional state. Also how you two kissed _way_ too easily for two people who supposedly don’t “really” have feelings for each other. Oh, and how sometimes Renjun and I catch you high key checking him out. Should I continue?”

Yangyang could only gape at Jeno for a solid ten seconds before he managed to snap his mouth shut and shake his head. “I- uh, well shit…”

“Mmmm yup,” Jeno sassed, taking a sip from his coffee.

Ignoring him, Yangyang let his thoughts dance. He liked Donghyuck. He liked “going out” with him, he’d liked playing football with him, he’d liked holding his hand and he’d really liked kissing him. His laugh was energizing, his smile was brilliant and having someone he could easily joke around with made the move to a foreign country much easier than he’d anticipated.

Being with Donghyuck just felt… _right._ He didn’t have to worry about the things he used to when he was with him, it was just so easy to let go and not give two fucks.

“Okay… I like him… and I guess I have for some time,” he conceded, sighing heavily and running a hand through his hair again. “But…… what now?”

Jeno arched a brow. “Well that’s the easy part: you go get that son of a bitch and turn this shit around.”

Yangyang blinked rapidly. “Much easier said than done, I’m afraid, I’m not even sure if he feels the same way about me… I- I fucked up like _way_ before this anyway so I wouldn’t be surprised if he hates me or-”

Jeno very forcefully set his cup down onto the table and fixed Yangyang with a remarkably intimidating Zero-Tolerance For Your Bullshit look.

“Yangyang. My guy. Have you noticed how Donghyuck in turn stares at you? How he always seems so comfortable and care-free by your side? Even when his ex is breathing down his neck? Or are you just as blind as your boyfriend?” Jeno inquired, pausing to take a sip from his coffee.

He groaned quietly and frowned at his muffin. “But… But then why does he keep pushing me away? Why does it feel like he so cold and… yeah?”

“He’s a lot easier to win over than you think. He’s just distrustful _because_ he gets attached so easily. That’s why his thing with Seungmin hit him really hard. That was the longest romantic relationship he’d been able to sustain in his life- wait, fuck, please don’t tell him I told you this he’ll actually skin me alive.”

Yangyang waved off Jeno’s concern and tried to process everything. “But- but it doesn’t feel like he even likes me? Like he treats you all the same as me, I think from what I’ve seen… He- I don’t know if I’m just dumb or if he doesn’t seem interested…”

“See, that’s just the thing you gotta learn about him,” Jeno shrugged. “Don’t let it discourage you; he likes to play hard to get.”

Yangyang squinted, cautious. “What do you mean?”

A smirk tugged at Jeno’s lips. “I mean, he’s a top in the streets but a bottom in the sheets.”

Yangyang was thankful he hadn’t been drinking his coffee or he surely would’ve choked on it. He sputtered in a very unrefined manner and could feel his face rush with warm blood.

“He’ll act all high and mighty and too-good-for-you but take it from me, a childhood friend, he’s just as much of a sucker for you as you are for him. Hence why he took your misinterpreted “flirting” really hard.”

His mind was reeling. “...Holy shit…”

Jeno slurped his coffee for a few seconds while Yangyang sat, dumbfounded, with his jaw unhinged and his eyes bugged out.

After polishing off the last few bites of his scone, and then Yangyang’s muffin remains when the other boy didn’t respond to his “are you gonna finish that” after thirty seconds, Jeno stood, wiped down the condensation that had gathered on the Death Drink and motioned for a still very dazed Yangyang to follow him out of the shop.

“I’ll give you a lift back to your place if you want but I should get this to Jaemin before he goes through caffeine withdrawal,” he explained as they made their way back towards the theater. “Just go back towards the diner and wait there, I- it’s probably best if you don’t try to work things out with Hyuck right this minute.”

Yangyang couldn’t agree more and wallowed in his thoughts, already missing the comfort of his (fake) boyfriend’s hand in his.

* * *

**germany:** I know I’m probably the last person you want to hear from right now but I hope you read this and take my words sincerely and to your heart. I’m so sorry you thought I was flirting with Seungmin, that was not my intention. I was only trying to be polite and I know he’s your “asshole ex” but he’d given me no reason to treat him like shit. I’d also like to apologize for making it seem like I didn’t genuinely care and that I was “pretending” (but I guess that was heavily implied in the job description, huh?) to care about you. I whole-heartedly care about you and without me noticing, you stole my heart. Finally, I’m very sorry for pressing you to tell me things that didn’t concern me. I just wanted to know what was making you so moody so I could maybe fix it, I didn’t mean to be invasive.  
**germany:** This is nowhere near an adequate apology so whenever you want, if you want, I’d be more than happy to meet up and apologize in person. I want to fix things between us because I hate seeing you so upset.  
**germany:** Take care ♡

Donghyuck stared at the messages and read them over and over again. And every time he read it through again, word for word, letter for letter, he slowly understood a little more and more. And as he understood, he felt his heart quicken, his cheeks warm and his tummy flop.

“I swear this time I wasn’t the one who told him to apologize to you, that was all on his own,” Renjun cut in from across the room as he filed his nails while sprawled over his bed.

Donghyuck snapped his head up and glared and his roommate. “What makes you think Yangyang texted me? I’m... reading a buzzfeed article, fuck off.”

Renjun sighed loudly, clearly unimpressed by Donghyuck’s lie. “You sure? Cuz you’ve got that dumb, soft, lovey-dovey look in your eyes that you get whenever you’re around my cousin.”

He elected not to humor Renjun by trying to deny it and turned back to his phone, sifting through the layers of emotions that had piled up over the several times he’d read over the words again and again.

It… seemed genuine. God he hoped so badly that it was genuine…

Swallowing thickly, he shook the wet sting from his eyes and turned his phone off, placing it screen down on his pillow.

“Well this is one huge fuckin can of worms,” he muttered to himself, not even trying to escape the whirl of thoughts and memories and feeling that sucked up his full attention.

* * *

Days passed; some were harder to get through than others. Donghyuck, with the help of his faithful roommate, was able to slowly draw conclusions for himself to cement a final decision in place. He hadn’t yet texted Yangyang back, and had to stop himself on multiple occasions from destroying his phone completely so he wouldn’t have to make a decision, but he had several responses drafted in his notes for if he felt a surge of courage.

Perhaps two weeks had passed since the incident and so much had gone down. Every few days Mark would stop by and keep Donghyuck company, telling him about the shenanigans on his campus or about a funny customer at work. It kept him from falling into a pit of his own thoughts and being consumed by them, and he felt eternally grateful for having a friend like Mark.

Keeping him up to speed, as he only ever left the room to get food and attend class, Renjun informed him of his and Jeno’s progress in their relationship and that when the semester closed next month, they were going to find a place to park themselves for the summer while searching for internships and jobs.

He also informed Donghyuck about the falling-out between Jaemin and Seungmin and, as awful as it was, Donghyuck couldn’t suppress a smirk of satisfaction.

“Wait, so they’re like… they’re not together any more?”

Renjun shrugged. “Seems like it. They removed each other’s names from their Instagram bios and even unfollowed each other. But it was bound to happen, they were both trying so desperately to get over someone…”

Donghyuck blinked. He had so many questions. “... W-what do you mean…? By- by they’re still not over someone a-and that they broke-up, like- like _why?”_

Renjun flipped absentmindedly through a magazine and shrugged again. “I said what I said. Jaemin’s still not over you-know-who and Seungmin misses you way more than he cares to admit. And if I’m right, which I usually am about these things, I’d say that they broke up because of you. Jaemin’s loyalty pulled too thin between one of his best friends and then the boy he thought had a nice ass, which probably isn’t why he asked out Seungming in the first place but you get the id-”

“He- he misses me?? Seungmin misses me?”

“Yeah, couldn’t you tell?”

Donghyuck sputtered. “I- w- _no!”_

“Oh. Huh. Thought it was obvious,” he mused before shrugging to himself and returning to his magazine.

Donghyuck opened his mouth to say something but quickly shut it and frowned. Something was different.

There was no nervous knot in his stomach, nor a flutter in his heart even though Renjun had explicitly said that Seungmin missed him.

“I’m over Seungmin,” he murmured in awe, more to himself than to Renjun but of course Renjun heard anyways.

“You have been for a while,” Renjun commented.

Donghyuck shot a look at his friend. “You know, you should really go into psychology or something and put your scarily accurate ability to read people to good use.”

Renjun just shrugged and grinned.

* * *

The following day, Donghyuck was amazed by how his feet were lighter, his head seemed to float up and stay held high with his shoulders set back and his strides confident.

His feet never touched the ground and the light, friendly smile never dropped from his face.

And even when Renjun not-so-surreptitiously proposed the idea of going to a local party being held by a student at their parents’ luxury penthouse, he agreed happily, setting off to get ready immediately.

“How’s this?” Donghyuck asked, turning to face Renjun in his second outfit.

Renjun barely glanced up. “Nope.”

He narrowed his eyes at his critical friend. “Hey, then get off your phone and help me find something that makes me look good.”

The other boy only held up a finger, telling Donghyuck to wait a minute, as he finished typing out something on his phone.

“Alright!” He threw the phone onto his bed and jumped up, striding over to Donghyuck. “I got the perfect idea.”

Rifling through Donghyuck’s good section of clothing, he pulled out shirt after shirt and pants after pants, laying them out onto the bed to judge their individual looks and as a whole outfit.

“Here. Try this,” Renjun said, shoving a red top that Donghyuck didn’t know he owned into his chest and a pair of Renjun’s own pants.

“Where did you get this?-”

“Just trust me on this.”

Two minutes later Donghyuck emerged, hair rumpled but looking like a three course _meal._

Renjun smirked and nodded, proud of himself. “Oh yes, this will definitely work.”

Donghyuck shot his friend a quizzical look but didn’t have the time to voice his thoughts as he was hustled to stand in front of their full length body mirror.

Looking over the outfit Renjun had selected for him elicited a low whistle from him and his eyes widened.

“Daaammn, Junie,” he whispered, turning to admire how Renjun’s old ballroom pants hugged his legs and ass in all the right spots. He ran a light hand over the mesh covering his shoulders and upper chest, running a finger down from the collar to the line where it was stitched back into cotton.

“Damn it right, now button it up but leave one undone, it’s cuter like that,” Renjun advised, reaching over to help button two of the three buttons Donghyuck had left open.

He smirked. “Cute? That’s how you wanna describe me? I look fuckin _hot_ right now!”

“Well, for now. I’m just going to take the liberty of enhancing your already gorgeous features with a little touch of my fairy dust,” Renjun grinned with a wink. He sat Donghyuck down and happily set to work, sitting back and looking _very_ pleased with himself when he finished.

“Oh yes, _now_ you’re no longer just cute, you’re a straight up sexy _beast.”_

Donghyuck’s lips quirked up in a smirk. “Well, if there was anything straight about me.”

Renjun excused himself to use the bathroom and get himself ready, leaving his friend rambing about how he would have never guessed Renjun to be a ballroom dancer and own a pair of bomb-ass pants since he was so tiny, and pulled out his phone, shooting a text to his boyfriend (read: accomplice).

**To: guy smiley** _Tap for contact info_

guy smiley do you copy?

 **guy smiley:** I copy, Chubby Bunny. What’s your status?

bby’s ready to go

 **guy smiley:** Love, please stop abbreviating “baby” as “bby” you know it messes with my OCD.

sorry love i forgot  
*mwah*

 **guy smiley:** Thank you. I’m all set over here too; Bitch Numero Dos is nervous but really wants to set things right.

man i’m rootin for them

 **guy smiley:** Me too.  
**guy smiley:** How about Bitches Numeros Tres Y Cuatro?

mmmnot sure  
sanha said he’d take care of any interference per our Salty Bitch  
and i’d promised hyuck we’d go with markie poo  
can’t say anything about Bitch Numero Cuatro though

 **guy smiley:** Alright well he’s not back from the store yet but I’ll keep you posted.  
**guy smiley:** Until then, Guy Smiley signing off.

“Hey, hey, hey! Damn, you look good!” Mark exclaimed, climbing into the back seat of the cab.

“You made it,” Donghyuck said, fistbumping Mark and scooched over to make room for his friend. “And thanks, you too.”

“Of course, a fun night out with my good friends and an excuse to drink, how could I say no?”

Donghyuck fondly rolled his eyes. “Yeah, well unless your tolerance has gotten remarkably better since high school, I’m not letting you touch more than one drink.”

Renjun smirked from his seat in the front. Neither boy had any idea what had been set up for them, but they’d thank him and Jeno later.

* * *

The penthouse was huge as _fuck_ , and the door leading inside probably costed more than Donghyuck’s two-semester tuition.

The three boys stumbled in, gazing around in awe at the dimly lit common space packed full of dancing and moving bodies.

“Shit bruh,” Mark whispered under his breath.

“I’ll get us something to drink,” Renjun offered, taking Mark by the wrist and leading him away.

Donghyuck’s attempt to call his friend back was futile and drowned out by the surround sound speaker system. “I- wait, what?”

Suddenly he was surrounded by people he didn’t know, in a home that wasn’t his own and clothes that suddenly felt way too flashy for someone like him.

Panic set in.

“Oh fuck, what was I thinking?” He whispered to himself, swallowing thickly and trying to calm the churning in his stomach.

Stumbling across the room, he found an open seat on the couch that overlooked the dance floor and sat, blocking out the intrusive thoughts.

“Hallo.”

Donghyuck shot up and whipped around, clutching at his pounding heart. “Jesus, Yangyang, don’t scare me like that!”

The German boy threw his head back and laughed loudly and damn, what a sight for sore eyes. Donghyuck swore his heart fluttered in his chest.

“Sorry, sorry, it’s a nice surprise to see you here though,” he said, walking around to meet Donghyuck face to face.

“Uh, well, yeah, I mean, what are the odds?” He joked, looking away to hopefully obscure the light blush creeping up on his cheeks.

“Hey, my eyes are up here,” Yangyang teased, stepping closer to Donghyuck and using two fingers to tip Donghyuck’s chin up and force his eyes to meet Yangyang’s.

The pressure under his jaw wasn’t strong and he could tell that Yangyang wouldn’t try to stop him if he chose to move away. But something about the touch grounded him in the moment, sweeping the insecurities and second thoughts out the door.

Donghyuck shakily exhaled, bringing one of his hands up to wrap around Yangyang’s fingers, gripping them gently and sliding them up his jaw to cup his cheek.

He gulped, gazing into Yangyang’s dark, captivating eyes. “I-I’m sorry…”

A light finger rested against his lips and Yangyang quietly shushed him, smiling softly. “Don’t think about it right now. Just- just tell me that you want this -want _us-_ to start fresh and- and be _real_ this time.”

Donghyuck took a deep breath and nodded, squeezing Yangyang’s fingers in his own. “Yes… I want this to be real,” he breathed.

Yangyang flashed a broad, unbridled smile of pure elation and leaned forward.

Gradually, Yangyang's face edged closer and closer, his lips on a collision course with Donghyucks, until the warm skin brushed ever so lightly.

The tease was all Donghyuck needed to hook him in and he leaned in to try and close the gap, but Yangyang pulled back like the motherfucking tease he was. Donghyuck's cry of protest was drowned by the booming speakers and chatter around them so all he could do was let himself be lead into the huge crowd of moving bodies.

Finally, the grip around Donghyuck's wrist loosened and before him stood a smokey, gorgeous looking boy with the most shit-eating and alluring grin he'd ever seen.

In one smooth motion, he drew Donghyuck in close, their chests almost touching, and leaned in to whisper hotly against the shell of his ear. "Dance with me."

A shiver shot down his spine and he smiled. Nodding eagerly, he forgot to care about blending in, about acting normal, and finally let his hair down.

Colors flashed by his eyes, his veins thrummed with an electric energy, he danced his little heart out and screamed the lyrics along with his boyfriend until their dry mouths and scratchy throats forced them to take a break and get a drink of water. 

"You look like you're having a good time," Yangyang commented, smirking.

The slight quirks of his lips drew Donghyuck’s full attention and before he could stop himself, he surged forward, desperate to taste those sweet, warm lips once more.

Yangyang’s jaw immediately slackened under Donghyuck’s hungry kiss and he easily parted his lips to reciprocate eagerly.

Donghyuck’s nerves were electrified and every brush of Yangyang’s fingertips, every low groan and gasp released into their kiss, every shift of their lips sent his mind spiraling further and further into a cloudy haze of want and pleasure.

A firm and commanding hand slid up from Donghyuck’s hip, teasing fingertips trailing over the ticklish skin of his tummy, and knitted into the hair at the nape of his neck to hold him in place, as if he had the intention to pull away.

Gentle teeth nipped at Donghyuck's lower lip and he groaned, pushing himself into Yangyang until their chests touched and their legs slotted between eachothers. He gasped as Yangyang's teeth carefully nibbled at his lip and his hands wandered down to his hips, slipping around to cop a generous feel through Renjun's tight pants.

"A-aahh fuucckkkk," he sighed, recapturing Yangyang's lips and slipping his tongue into the warm, wet cavern of his boyfriend's mouth. Very slyly, he let his tongue dance with Yangyang's while leaning into the kiss, more and more, fighting for the top spot.

"Scheiße!" Yangyang gasped, breaking contact for a second before diving back in, hands clutching at the fabric of Donghyuck's shirt.

Their lips crashed once more but Donghyuck could feel his entire body rush with heat at the husky whisper of Yangyang cursing in German.

"Holy fuck, do that again," he demanded, pulling back to stare with blown pupils into Yangyang's dark eyes.

Yangyang's eyes, fixated on Donghyuck's lips, were clouded but cleared quickly as he ripped his gaze away, staring questioningly at his boyfriend. "Wh-what?"

He leaned in, tracing his tongue over his warm, swollen lips, and peered through his eyelashes at Yangyang. "Speak German again, that's fucking hot."

A smug grin crept over his face and a spark danced in his eyes. "Oh babe, I could swear in German, English, Chinese or Spanish for you."

Donghyuck swore he swooned, metaphorically of course. Letting a delicate, teasing finger trace over Yangyang's jaw, he dropped his gaze to Yangyang's lips and breathed in. "Really? Let's see how many I can get you to curse in."

Warm laughter filled his ears and the rest of the world fell away.

_'Cause I don't care when I'm with my baby, yeah_  
_All the bad things disappear_  
_Yeah, you're making me feel like maybe I am somebody_  
_I can deal with the bad nights when I'm with my baby, yeah_  
_Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh_  
_'Cause I don't care as long as you just hold me near_  
_You can take me anywhere_  
_And you're making me feel like I'm loved by somebody_

* * *

The soft, dark curtain of sleep fell from around him slowly, pulling him from his peaceful slumber.

“Ahhh… fuuuucckkkk…” Donghyuck gave a groggy groan, rolling over in his sheets to sit up with his legs dangling off the edge of his bed.

Rubbing roughly at his eyes, he was reminded suddenly of the incredible night he’d had.

He couldn’t repress the huge smile that crept up his cheeks and he rushed to check his phone.

A few missed calls from unknown numbers and a plethora of unread messages.

“Well shit,” he muttered to himself, stumbling out of bed to get ready for the day.

He scrolled through the dozens of names, searching for the one that held Top Priority.

He found it and eagerly opened the message, nearly dropping his phone into the sink as he juggled a toothbrush and toothpaste.

**germany:** Hallo! I hope you had as much fun as I did last night!

 **germany:** I want to do this right because you don’t deserve anything less than perfect so I think we should talk about a few things as soon as you can

 **germany:** I’m free all day today so just hit me up whenever

Not twenty seconds had passed and Donghyuck was out the door, taking his wallet, phone and keys, sprinting to meet at the park location he’d texted Yangyang.

“You’re here already,” he stated as he approached Yangyang who was hunched on a bench, waiting for him.

“Yeah, I was actually just out getting tea,” he shrugged, sliding over to make room for Donghyuck.

Donghyuck, unable to control himself, leaned forward and planted a quick kiss to Yangyang’s cheek, reveling in how the little German boy blushed noticeably.

“Uh- okay, well, to start, I'd like to formally apologize for that afternoon outside the movie theater,” he began, clearing his throat. “I understand now that it was entirely your business and it wasn’t the best time for me to try to involve myself. And I want you to know, I mean, if you couldn’t already tell, that I truly care about you.”

He shifted and nodded for Yangyang to continue.

“Look, the truth is that... back home, I’be always had a really hard time expressing myself and, like... who I am. People... well, they judge and criticize you for how you dress, or talk, or walk a-and, I mean... I’ve just spent the past 19 years of my life trying to blend into a crowd, so... I’m sorry if I offended you by saying those, uh, things when we first met. I mean, I had no idea to react to a boy walking over wearing a shirt that read ‘gay’ and an outfit with such personality, I didn’t want to draw attention to myself by being around you. I mean, you didn’t do anything wrong and the, how do you call it? Internalized homophobia? Yeah, it gets to me sometimes, so I’m really sorry if that messed you up...”

He blinked. “N-no, I-I mean, don’t worry about it, like, yeah, it kinda hurt at the time and made me want to plot my revenge but... I get it. Wanting to blend in, not to stand out.”

Inhaling deeply, Donghyuck prepared himself. Yangyang deserves to know the story, after all, he’d been posing as his boyfriend for the past four months.

“When Seungmin and I were together... we weren’t together for the right reasons. I liked him because I was an arrogant, know-it-all freshman and he was a good kisser, end of story. And I assume he liked me for the same reasons, if not then similar ones. We got together somehow and at first, he just said things like, ‘oh, I don’t think you should wear such a bright color to this event, it’s more chill.’ I didn’t know it at the time but he- he was just trying to, like, manipulate me into being a perfect little trophy wife, someone who could blend into a crowd of his mostly straight friends, or not draw too much attention when going grocery shopping...”

Yangyang gave a sympathetic hum. “I’m so sorry to hear that, I had no idea...”

”It’s fine, it wasn’t your fault,” he shrugged.” “Anyways, it slowly became clear that he just wanted me to be someone completely different from who I was. I had to change the way I talked, dresses, acted, everything like that. B-but... but ever since we began out little act... I just- I mean, I haven't cared what others thought at _all_. Like, I've been able to say 'fuck it' about more things these past few months than in the past year... You help me let it all go."

A warm hand slipped into his, warm fingers hugging tightly. "Hey, how about we help each other? There's still a whole lot of _you_ buried under this- this mask of a generic straight dude. I'll stick around and learn from you how to, like, uhh... be me."

Startled, he blinked, scrambling to find words. "I- y-yeah, sure, of course," he stuttered, burying his face into Yangyang's shoulder. "I'd like that a lot."

* * *

_4 Months Later_

**schatz:** Hyuckie? Are you here yet?

omw  
mark is being slow

 **schatz:** Okay well everyone else is here I think  
**schatz:** Just waiting on you now

"Mark! Are you ready yet?!" Donghyuck shouted through the door of his friend's bedroom.

"Almost!"

Ten seconds later, Mark burst out of his room, dressed sharply in his khaki shorts and Hawaiian button-down.

"God, it's not like you're going on a date," he muttered, exiting with long, hurried strides. When he got no response as they reached the corner, he fixed Mark with a scrutinizing look. "Wait..."

Mark sighed. "It- it's a long story..."

Donghyuck's face was almost split in half by the huge smile that spread from ear to ear. "Oh my god, _spill."_

Mark stared down at his shoes, eyes averted and fingers playing with the untucked hem of his shirt. "Um, I uh." He cleared his throat loudly, failing to fight down the rising blush in his cheeks. "Jaeminaskedmeouttonight..."

His jaw dropped to the ground. "Holy fuck, you're _kidding_."

Mark fought back a smile and shook his head shyly.

"Wait, even after he broke-up with you because of that rumor two and a half years ago??"

Mark nodded, still trying to hide his smile.

Donghyuck picked his jaw up off the ground and stared at his friend. "Holy shit... "

A hand waved through the air and Mark shushed him. "I- I'll tell you more about it later. Uh, but, long story short: he'd dumped me because people thought I was only dating him to stop being harassed about my aromanticism and asexuality and, if you remember, at the time he was known for playing around a lot so, uh, I guess when his feelings were hurt by those rumors, he just... cut it off and yeah. But we kinda made ou- er, made _up_ at the big penthouse party a few months ago."

Donghyuck's jaw hit the ground again. "Holy fuck, you were left by the only person you've ever liked romantically because of some bullshit high school rumor??"

Mark startled. "I- I- I- I guess...? Damn, that was blunt."

"It's one of my many charms. Now, come, come, we're late!" He said, grabbing Mark's wrist.

"Heyy! I thought you'd bailed," Jeno greeted, directing the pair over to where everyone else was waiting.

"No, Markie here's just a lil' nervous and took _extra_ time to wash the cow manure out of his hair," Donghyuck chuckled, earning a hefty whack on the shoulder.

"Go find your little German boy, Hyuck," he dismissed, shoving Donghyuck in the direction of everyone else.

Laughing, Donghyuck stumbled over to the bright flash of red amongst other, duller colors in the crowd.

"Well, look who showed up," Yangyang remarked, stepping forward to greet Donghyuck with a light peck on the lips.

"EWWWW," Chenle, one of their group's newly adopted members, cried, fake gagging and hiding his face in Sanha's back.

"IS THAT WHAT SEX LOOKS LIKE?!" Chenle's best friend, Jisung, shouted at the top of his motherfucking lungs.

Donghyuck gave an exasperated sigh and rolled his eyes, looping an arm around Yangyang's waist and integrating himself into the group's conversation.

Talking and laughing warmed his heart and before long, their group was called into the briefing room where no one actually listened to the rules, taking the time to instead chat and fool around.

"Hey," Yangyang whispered against Donghyuck's ear, making him jump. "I'm not new to this game anymore, are you ready to get your ass handed to you?"

Unable to help the loud laugh that bubbled past his lips, Donghyuck tipped his head back, reminded of saying those same words to Yangyang on their first fake date.

"Oh, _Schatz_ _,_ you'd better have eyes in the back of your head, 'cause I'm gonna take you the fuck down."

5.

4.

3.

2.

1.

Donghyuck was starting fresh, for real this time, and he had the best person he could've asked for by his side.

**Author's Note:**

> comments and kudos are very appreciated! i know the ending is rushed but i hope you still enjoyed it ;)
> 
> Knuddelbärchen - cuddle bear  
> Häschen - little bunny  
> Scheiße - shit  
> Schatz - treasure (exclusively romantic)
> 
> p.s. yes, the title is after ed sheeran & justin bieber's new(ish) song i don't care, give it a listen, i tried to sprinkle themes throughout


End file.
